


I need to know

by FangirlingHeart



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Dreams and Nightmares, Everyone Has Issues, F/M, Gothel is a Bitch, I'm Sorry, I'm a bit bad at tagging, Magic, Moon!Varian (Kind of), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rapunzel and co. appear but as side characters, Re-upload, Sometimes soft, Sundrop and Moonstone work a bit different from canon, Varian Needs a Hug (Disney), as always, reluctant allies to friends to lovers, sometimes dark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:01:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 39
Words: 59,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29107485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FangirlingHeart/pseuds/FangirlingHeart
Summary: Varian is a young alchemist who dreams of sharing his gift with the world, while his father's doing everything to keep it a secret. One of the many secrets he's trying to keep and Varian will try to uncover on a journey to save his father and the world from a big threat. Will he be able to handle a spoiled princess as a traveling companion, and the truth he so desperately seeks?
Relationships: Quirin & Varian (Disney), Ruddiger & Varian (Disney), Varian (Disney)/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! So, I'm kinda new here and this is the first story I'm uploading here. I really hope you'll like it, because for me it's a labor of love for a series I found at the moment I needed it most! And since I'm co-posting it on FFnet I'll be uploading multiple chapters a day, for a while. Anyway, onto the story!

  
The sun started to rise, painting the hills with its luminous rays. Through an open window, it reached Varian's room and as he felt the sun's warmth on his face, he woke up. Ruddiger, his raccoon friend, jumped on him to tell him good morning and smiling the boy stroked the little critter's fur, before getting up. He got down the stairs and as he reached the main room, he noticed his father's figure looking outside the window. But something about him felt different...

"Uhh...Dad? Is everything okay?" Varian asked walking closer.

Suddenly the man's figure melted away and in his place appered a large shadow with glowing amber eyes. Varian stumbled and fell on his back, shocked by the creature before him.

"I know where you are... And I know who you are...I probably know you better than you know yourself..." The monster said in an intimidating tone, as it was moving towards the boy threateningly.

"No! Get away!" He yelled backing off, but the monster kept getting closer and closer. It nearly looked like the boy wasn't moving at all.

"You've got something that's mine... I want it back... **I'M COMING FOR YOU,VARIAN**!" The monster yelled and lunged at him.

* * *

Varian jolted awake from his nightmare, waking up Ruddiger, who was sleeping next to him. He looked outside his window. The moon was still up. It was still night. He let out a long sigh as he ran his fingers through his black hair. Rudiger walked up to him, making a worried chittering.

  
"Sorry I woke you up, Ruddiger. But I had the nightmare... again." Varian muttered, still shaken up from the dream.

At times, like everyone else, he would have nightmares. But this specific nightmare was haunting him ever since he was little. He didn't believe in what people were saying, about dreams having a meaning, however, whenever he was having it he couldn't help but feel that... it was real. And he wasn't having it at a specific day or for a specific reason. For at least two years he hadn't had it. He actually had started to think that it wouldn't bother him again. But apparently he was wrong.

He laid back to sleep, but the sleep wasn't coming easy. At the same time, he could hear a sound fading in the distance. The sound of a horse's gallop.

The next morning Varian woke up, still feeling a little tired. He threw a some water in his face and with Ruddiger resting over his shoulders he went downstairs.

"Good morning, Dad." Varian said waiting to hear his dad's answer. But all that he heard was silence. "Dad? Dad?" Varian called a little louder.

He was surprised his Dad wasn't there. He usually was already up at this time of the day. Ruddiger then jumped on the table and got in his mouth a piece of paper that was there. He turned to the boy, to give it to him.

"What's that?" He wondered aloud, took the paper from his friend and read what was written on it:

* * *

_Problem at job. I left at night to see what happened. I'll be back by noon.  
Dad.  
P.S. Please clean the house a bit while I'm away and don't do anything stupid. You know what I mean by that._

* * *

"Of course I do..." He muttered annoyed and placed the letter back on the table as he walked to the kitchen to get some breakfast.

It wasn't like he had many choices to choose from. Just bread with some ham or jam. Varian though, never complained about it. He had plenty of other things to complain about. But before his thoughts could ran to any of those things, Ruddiger's chittering was heard, like he was asking if he could get some ham too. Varian smiled and gave him some. The little raccoon ate it from the boy's hand, purring to show his satisfaction and appreciation towards his friend. After they were both done, they went for the chores.

Like any other kid, Varian hated doing chores. Especially when he knew that he could finish them a lot earlier... if he was allowed to do them his way. With that thought on his mind, half-hearted and bored he started sweeping the floor, when he noticed something, or rather someone outside.

It was a girl his age, that Varian knew, but only from afar. She had blond hair tied up in a bun and bright eyes that were a combination of blue and green. She was nothing but a scullery maid in the house of a rich man that lived in the village, but she looked like a princess in Varian's eyes. As soon as he noticed her he dropped the broom and rushed to the window to see her. She was holding a basket full of clothes, so she should have been going to the fountain at the plaza to do her lord's laundry. Varian was always watching her go, and sometimes he was seeing her in the town. At the fountain, at the tailor's shop, at the grocery store...but always from afar.  
He never really had any friends besides Rudiger. He never actually bothered to make any, because he and his Dad were constantly moving. Either because of his Dad's job or...because of Varian. But he wanted to be friends(or maybe something more) with her, to trust her, to tell her his secret. A secret about himself, that he so despised to keep and longed to tell someone.

"Hey, Ruddiger, how about we go for a stroll in town? Cleaning can wait a bit." Varian said as he made his way to Ruddiger, who was lying on the table.  
The raccoon wasted no time and jumped on the boy and rested around his shoulders. Varian then walked outside towards the town.


	2. Chapter 2

Varian reached the plaza soon, since the town was pretty small and his house, despite being on the outskirts, was pretty close there. He noticed the girl washing some clothes at the fountain, while chatting with the rest of the girls that were doing laundry too. Varian frowned for a moment, when he saw them there. He wanted to finally talk to her, but he had hoped she would be alone.

He didn't actually have the best reputation in the village. The Weirdo with the raccoon, the Goggle Kid, the Non-Existent were only a few of the nicknames he knew the villagers were calling him. Either behind his back or even in front of his face. Even though he had kinda got used to it, since pretty much wherever he and his Dad were moving, he was always developing such a reputation, it still didn't stop bothering him. He turned around to leave, but Ruddiger, unwilling to let him walk away like that without finally speaking to the girl, jumped off Varian and started running towards the fountain.

"Ruddiger, stop!" The boy called out as he ran after his raccoon, who had reached where the girls were, making them scream:

"AAAHHHH!"

"Take that thing away! It's disgusting"

"It carries diseases!"

Rudiger kept running around them, starting to kinda enjoy this, until Varian got him.

"Sorry about that. I don't know what had gotten into him." He apologized, looking mostly at the blond servant girl, who gave him just a measly look.

"Seriously, if you really need to carry this pest around the village, at least keep it under control!" One of the girls yelled.

Varian slightly narrowed his eyes hearing this.

"Are you gonna stay here for a long time, weirdo?" another girl said

"Yeah, we're working here. Not like you know what that means." the first girl said and Varian started slowly walking away, with a defeated look on his face.

Ruddiger glanced at him with a regretful expression. The boy gently petted him, to show he wasn't mad or anything. After all he knew that he didn't mean to make things go this way.

"Hey, Mary, how come you're so quiet today? You didn't even tell off the weirdo with us." The first girl said again to the servant girl, who was focused on her washing.

"Can't talk. I have to clean this shirt up. It's my lord's favorite and he wants to wear it tonight, for a gathering. But it just won't clean up! I'm gonna get in serious trouble if it's not clean by tonight." The servant girl said as she kept rubbing the shirt, trying to clean it up.

Even though he was walking away, Varian was close enough to hear what they were saying and his face quickly lit up as an idea came to his mind. He ran back to his home and as soon as he got there, he headed for a trapdoor behind the main room, that led in the basement, which served as the place where he was hiding his secret: as his lab. And the secret he was hiding there was his gift: Alchemy.

Varian was an alchemist, but nobody knew this aside from him and his Dad, who was constantly telling him that they should keep it a secret no matter what. However, Varian hated this. He didn't want to keep his creations, his gift a secret. Instead, he dreamed of showing them to the world, of changing the people's lives for the better and of making his Dad proud of him and his creations. And now the girl had just given him the perfect plan of how to do it.

"All right! I got it!" Varian called out enthusiastically, as he left Ruddiger on a table.

The little critter looked at him in confusion and made a curious chittering.

"Didn't you hear her, Ruddiger? She said she couldn't clean a stain and that she'd get in trouble if she won't clean it up. So I can create something that will help her clean it up and BAM! I'll impress her! And the entire village as well!" Varian said breathlessly from his excitement.

Rudiger then turned his head towards the door, making the same curious chittering. He then looked at Varian with a worried expression. Varian realised what he wanted to tell himand rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Don't worry about that. I'll be done before Dad comes back. And once he sees what I've done, he will forget that I disobeyed him and he will change his mind for keeping the fact that I'm an alchemist a secret... I hope." Varian said as he wore his goggles and turned to his desk "Now it's time to get to work."

Meanwhile, somewhere far away from the village, Varian's Dad, Quirin, was getting some rest near a river after a hard night at work. He had left his horse drink some water nearby, while he was washing his face a bit. He glanced at his left foot, which he had just wrapped up with a rag. He tried to get up, but as soon as he did he kneeled back down wincing.

 _You winced...You actually have the nerve to wince, you fool! You brought this on yourself!_ Quirin cursed in his mind.

It wasn't like he could complain. What happened, happened because he didn't leave well-prepared. Because he relaxed. How could he relax?! He knew very well what job he had to do and how important it was, so even the fact that there wasn't a problem for at least two years was not an excuse. He got up again and ignoring the pain he walked to his horse and gently stroked its neck. The horse raised its head and gently nudged the man, who formed a weak smile.

"Let's go home."Quirin said as he got on the horse, ignoring his pain once more.

On the way back to the village, Quirin kept thinking about Varian. He was wondering if he had actually cleaned the house, and most importantly if he had listened and didn't do any of his alchemy. He knew how Varian felt about keeping his gift a secret, but he also knew that they didn't have much of a choice. If this secret was ever to be uncovered... if it was spread...Quirin couldn't even think of what would happen to his son. But Varian just couldn't understand. And it wasn't his fault. He didn't know. He couldn't know, he was not ready yet. And until he was, Quirin was determined to carry this burden alone.


	3. Chapter 3

As time went on, Varian kept trying to create a chemical compound to help the servant girl he liked clean that stain. And his creations didn't actually have the desirable result (It took him nearly an hour to unstuck his last formula from his hair and from Ruddiger's fur.). If he kept going with this rate, even if he did manage to create something that would help her, she would have gone by the time he'd go back at the fountain. But even if it did happen, Varian wasn't gonna give up. If he had to, he'd go at her lord's house and give it to her there.

"All right, I think that this time I got it." Varian said as he mixed a light pink chemical with a light blue one, creating a light purple one.

He then brought a small bowl of water he had ready and a piece of fabric on which he had threw some jam. He dripped a little of the formula on the stain and then he placed the fabric in the bowl. After rubbing it a little and creating some bubbles in the process, he brought the fabric out of the water and saw that the stain was gone.

"YES! I DID IT! I'M AWESOME!" Varian called out excitedly doing a small victory dance, but he was interrupted by the sound of a door opening.

"Varian, I'm home." Quirin's voice was heard from upstairs.

"And dead..." Varian muttered under his breath with a startled expression on his face.

How did his Dad came back this early?! (Or maybe it just seemed early to Varian, because he was there for quite a long time and whenever he was busy with something it looked like time was flying.) If he saw him there, if he saw that he disobeyed him and did his alchemy (again), Varian was done for. Quirin would definitely come down to check if Varian was there, so the boy needed an excuse and fast.

"Son?" Quirin called again and turned his face to the trapdoor that lead to his son's lab, narrowing his eyebrows.

Varian heard his steps heading towards the trapdoor and immediately ran to block it, ignoring the bubbles and the foam that was coming from his test.

"Dad? Is that you?" Varian said, pulling the trapdoor closed, while his Dad tried to open it.

"Varian, what are you doing down there?" Qiurin asked, sure that he ignored his word yet again.

"I-I'm moping the floor!" Varian lied and looked at Ruddiger, who raised an eyebrow like he was telling him "Really?"

"The truth." he said still trying to open the trapdoor.

"I'm telling you the truth. I'm just moping the floor. And besides, you left me the note to clean the house, didn't you?" Varian said, hoping his Dad believed him.

"Then why don't you let me come down?"

"I-it's the floor. It's really slippery!" Varian said, when suddenly a boiling noise was heard, getting the boy's attention.

He turned around and saw massinve amounts of foam, pink liquid and bubble coming out of the bowl in which he tested his formula making a strange sound, like it was boiling.

"Son, what's going on down there?!" Quirin demanded to know raising his voice, both in worry about was happening and in anger because Varian wasn't telling him.

The boy shifted his nervous gaze from the chemical reaction to the trapdoor, unsure of what to do. But either way, he knew that he was in big trouble. In the end he rushed to his desk, to try and stop this mess, before it became worse. Realising that his son had stopped blocking the trapdoor, Quirin immediately went down, to see Varian in the middle of this constantly increasing pile of foam and...pink...water(?) trying to create another alchemy. He rushed to him and pulled his elbow to make him come with him ustairs.

"Varian, what are you doing?! We have to get out of here!" He said as he kept trying to make Varian move, but the boy kept pulling away.

"No! Dad, I have to make a neutralizing part, otherwise this will envelop the entire house!" Varian said as he managed to pull away from his Dad'd grip and turned again to his desk.

"Son-" Quirin began but stopped when he noticed a hooded figure watching them through a small window.

The moment the figured realised that it was noticed, they immediately stood up and started running towards the forest. Quirin gave a glance at Varian, before looking outside the window again and making a hard choice.

"Can you do it fast?" He asked.

"I-I think I can-" Varian turned around and saw his Father exitting the lab.

His leave left him puzzled, but he couldn't think of it. Not right now. He had to focus on getting the neutralizing part done.

In the meantime, Quirin ran outside and chased after the hooded person as fast as he could. Injured foot or not, he wouldn't let him get away. If he did... There was no time to think of that! As soon as he had managed to catch up with them, Quirin lunged at them, pinning them down. But nearly immediately the figure turned around pinning down the man. They then brought an arrow from their belt, but before they could hit the man, he grabbed their arm and kicked them in the stomach sending them off him. The figure charged back at him, and Quirin avoided their arrow and grabbed a rope he noticed was in their belt. With a swift move he grabbed the figure's hands and tied them up behind their back, pinning them down again. Despite their attempts to break free, the figure couldn't. They were defeated.

Quirin dragged them and tied them up on tree. After that he removed the hood to see their face. And what he saw made him gasp in shock. Before him was a man he knew. He was a young blacksmith from the last village Quirin and Varian had moved from. But he was really **really** different. His face was pale, his eyes and mouth completely shut, nearly like they were glued and no sound was coming from him. He wasn't grunting, during the fight he wasn't screaming or letting out any battle cries, it seemed like he wasn't even breathing. Quirin placed his hand on the young man's chest and much to his horror there was no heartbeat. The young man should have been dead, but right now he was moving on his own like he was alive.

Wait...on his own...? Quirin knew there was no way such thing was possible. Except... The man knew the answer: Magic. Specifically, dark magic and a pretty familiar one. He looked at the... being before him with anger and disgust, but also with a slight hint of pity for him.

"The dead should be respected. This is **low**... Even for her." Quirin said and turned around to see... bubbles coming out of the chimney of his house?! "Oh, no...!"


	4. Chapter 4

Varian was still trying to create a neutralizing part, but since the liquid and the foam kept growing faster and faster, he had to grab whatever he could and finish the part upstairs. So he ended up being shut in the kitchen, as the liquid kept enveloping the house, its boiling noise coming closer by ever passing second, threatening to swallow him too, if he didn't hurry up and get that damn neutralizing part done!

Ruddiger was clinging on his feet, chittering in worry. Like he was trying to tell Varian to just stop and run outside, even if he knew that unless he was done he wouldn't move an inch.

"Okay, I think that this will do." Varian said as he poured the just done part into a small vial.

It wasn't much, but it ought to be enough to clean up this mess... hopefully. Varian opened the door of the kitchen and threw the vial out, into the pink liquid, which had swallowed nearly the entire main room. But as soon as the neutralizing part made contact with it, it stopped spreading. The boiling noise however started getting louder and all of the foam started gathering together into one large bubble, ready to burst any second. Realizing what was about to happen, Varian closed the door, rushed back inside and scooping Rudiger in his arms to protect him with his body, he hid under the table.

_BOOM!..._

A small explosion was heard. It wasn't strong to cause any damage, but it was loud. The people who had gathered around the house, as they saw the bubbles coming out of the chimney and they could see the pink liquid, had heard it. Quirin, who was limping to get back to his son, had heard it. The moment it was heard, his heart stopped for a moment. Stopped by the fear... that cold fear that was always there. Everyday, at the back of his mind... Varian, his son... was he...?

_Varian!_

Quirin ran towards the house as fast as he could. Without feeling any pain to ignore. Without paying any attention to the people who had gathered outside his house. He'd deal with them later. All that mattered now was Varian to be okay. He opened the door with force. It closed on its own.

"Varian?!" He called out, hoping to hear him answer, scanning the house in hopes of seeing him.

The door of the kitchen then opened, and Varian walked slowly (nearly cowardly) outside, with Rudiger following him close behind. The moment he saw him, Quirin let out a long relieved sigh and rushed to him.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt?" He asked, checking him for any sort of injury.

"I-I'm fine, I'm fine." Varian said "Dad, are **you** all right?" He asked looking at his Dad's injured foot.

Quirin gave it a glance, before turning his gaze to the door. Varian did the same. They both knew what had to be done now that the house was clean. It was showtime. Time for Quirin to make up some good story, some good lies, to cover up Varian's mess, or rather to excuse it. After all this time, he had practically become an expert in this: in excusing the inexcusables.

Varian was never there, when his Dad was doing that, because he couldn't take it. He couldn't bear watching his own father lying to people about him. Even though he was always saying that it was for his own good, just the thought of it was making the boy cringe. It made him feel that his father was ashamed of him. He didn't want that. Even though he would never admit it, this was his biggest fear. Sure, he was disappointed in him many times and just as many times angry at him, but sooner or later those hard feelings would go away. Shame however, if it was ever to come, it would stay. It would stay in the looks of contempt, in long and heavy silences, into the next house they would move to, so he wouldn't bring any more disaster of any form.

And even if he did want to come, Quirin wouldn't let him. He knew him only too well. He knew that if he was there he wouldn't bite his tongue, he would tell everything, he would ruin everything. And all he would have done all those years to keep him safe would mean nothing. What he had sacrificed, what he had lost would be all for nothing.

Varian's eyes drifted to a window for a moment and he noticed a little girl peeking in their house. He could see the curiosity and the wonder in her little dark brown eyes, but then someone came and pulled her back. It was Mary, the blond scullery maid. Without really thinking, Varian raised his hand and waved at her with a small sheepish smile. She didn't respond in any way, she just pulled the child away, and walked back into the crowd. Varian could have sworn that she looked scared... scared of him. He couldn't let things be this way. This time, he was determined to come clean, maybe that way, she and the rest of the village would be more understanding towards him.

As Quirin stood up and turned to walk outside, Varian grabbed his arm and stopped him. The man turned around to look at him with a questioning look.

"Dad, let me come with you." Varian said looking him in the eyes, trying his best not to start trembling like a fish out of the water.

"...Wait for me here." Quirin said as he turned away, but Varian didn't let it go.

"Dad, please! I have to-"

"You have to listen to me and stay!" He interrupted raising his voice, without turning to face him.

The boy flinched at his tone and slowly withdrew his hand without another word, as he lowered his gaze to the floor. For a few seconds there was silence. And then the sound of a door opening and closing softly. Varian could hear voices outside. He could make out what some of them were saying, but most of them sounded to him just like an unfortunate blabber. That was the voice of the crowd. Or probably the voice of the lies, which sounded less and less clear.

He went to check the windows. His Dad and the people were going towards the town. Possibly to the house of the village's chief. To the theater, so the show could begin.

* * *

Later that day, some time before sunset, somewhere else a woman covered in a black coat was hiding somewhere deep within a forest, clutching tight in her hands a small light blue accessory and taking deep breaths. She had a really hard night and her day wasn't any easier. She looked at the scratches on her body with contempt.

 _They look nearly as bad as wrinckles..._ She thought and glanced back at the accessory. _I need more... I need-_

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone coming. She immediately hid behind a tree as two men, who looked like hunters, walked by.

"Are you sure about it?" One of them asked.

"Definitely! I'm telling you I saw bubbles coming out of that house's chimney! BUBBLES!" The other said laughing, as the woman overheard with piqued interest.

"Really? And then what happened? Did Santa come out later? Or perhaps some whale?" The first one asked mockingly.

"No seriously! And then there was an explosion! It was crazy!"

"Yeah, I can imagine."

"Why make fun of it?" The woman spoke up, startling the two men. "I believe you." She said as she came out.

"Ma'am, who are you?" The first hunter asked her.

"Ma'am? Oh, please I'm not that old." She said in a joking tone. "I'm just a traveler, who is interested in extraordinary things. And what you said really **really** interests me. Could you tell me more?"

"Sorry, but we have to go on ma'am, uh, I mean miss... Goodbye." The first said again, and pulled his comrade to go on.

"Oh, of course, I understand you're two busy guys. I believe you deserve some rest, and maybe some strawberry juice?" She said and brought out a small bottle containing a light red liquid.

"Well...some strawberry juice wouldn't hurt now, would it?" The second one said, turning around.

"Fine, but get this over with quickly. We have to be home by nightfall." His comrade said.

"Here, drink up." The woman said as she gave him the juice, which he drank really quickly.

"Mmmm...It's really good..." He said as his gaze started drifting, like he was falling asleep. However, he quickly opened his eyes again and looked directly at the woman. "But not as good as you are!" He said in a rather strange tone, surprising the other hunter. "Please, take off that hood! Let me see your face! And tell me your name! Oh, I long to learn everything about you" He knelt before her and grabbed her hands into his, surprising his comrade even more.

"Oh, you will...but only after you tell me where is that house with the bubbles coming out of its chimney!" She said with a wide smile on her face.


	5. Chapter 5

Varian was sitting at the table at the main room, reading a book of his favorite book series, 'The Tales of Flynnigan Rider'. Aside from alchemy, these books were his biggest passion and reading them was always putting a smile on his face. But this time, it was not enough. For once again his Dad caught him disobeying him, he created a big mess and nearly had their secret uncovered (Whether he meant that or not did not matter at the moment). He was definitely in trouble. In big trouble. And he knew that when his Dad would get back... he was going to face the music.

How long would it be until then? The sun had already set, the first stars had started appearing in the sky and Varian was still waiting for him. He couldn't decide whether this was a good thing or not, but the wait was a torture for him. He kept thinking what exactly they could be saying right now. Maybe his Dad would do it again and the secret would be safe, maybe the townspeople wouldn't believe him, maybe, maybe, maybe...! There wouldn't be all those maybes if he had gone with him! He should have insisted to go with him! Why did he have to chicken out and bite his tongue? Why did this 'show' just have to go on?! Why?! Why?!

Varian let out an exasperated shout and with a sweep of his hands the books on the table fell on the floor.

He slammed his hand on the table with force, before sinking in the chair once again, frustration washing over him like a wave crashing on the shore. He hid his face in his gloved hands, taking deep breaths in an attempt to pull himself together, when he felt something moving around his feet and heard a soft trill. He looked down and saw Rudiger. The little guy always knew when was the right moment to show up and help him calm down. Varian tried his best to form a smile, as he petted his friend's head.

He turned his attention at the pile of books lying on the floor. It wasn't gonna get picked up on its own and he knew that. He got up and started picking them up, when suddenly he noticed a folded piece of paper falling from a book. Narrowing his eyes in curiosity, Varian placed the books back on the table and then got the paper in his hands and unfolded it. On it was written 'The Science behind a Dream'. It was an old document he was occupying himself with a long time ago. A document about his nightmare. It had to be left in there for about five years, since it had been this long since he last concerned himself with this subject, before he stopped believing that this dream had a meaning.

All over the document were written dates on which he had the nightmare, several notes about it and several doodles of it. All of the doodles were messy like they were done by a shaking hand. And they actually were. Also, were written stuff that had happened during the days he had the dream.

Varian found himself reading through the notes for whatever reason and noticed something that actually kinda piqued his interest about his nightmare again: there was a time when he had the nightmare two days in a row. During those days he had noted that his Dad was away, due to job. Just like today. Varian started brainstorming, trying to remember if this had happened again. A few cases managed to come to his mind, mainly because he could remember that when his Dad was coming back he was in an awful state. Always injured, slightly or heavily, and exhausted. And never ever telling what exactly had happened to him, no matter how many times Varian would ask, or how bad he was. He wasn't even letting the boy tend to him, claiming that he could do it on his own (going to a doctor of course was rarely a choice, since money was not that common in their house). He's always been telling him that he didn't want Varian to bother himself with this topic. He hadn't even told him what this job was. Whenever Varian was asking he was telling him the exact same thing:

"It's a dignified job that allows us to live."

For a pretty long time, the boy had tried to figure it out on his own, since his Dad wasn't telling him and sometimes he had tried to follow him there. But over time, his Dad made it clear that the less he knew about this job the better, and so just like with the nightmare, Varian stopped questioning. It just became a part of his life, a habit, out of trust towards his father.

But for how long was this trust gonna last? Thinking about it, the boy really started questioning himself, as to how did he stop questioning about all of this and how he did not see that connection earlier. All of this sparked the curiosity inside him. Wait, not just the curiosity. But rather a longing. A longing to understand, to know. And he got the chance to satisfy it, when he heard the sound of an opening door.

Quirin walked inside the house and saw Varian on the table. The two locked eyes. Their faces bearing the same unreadable expression, giving them the feeling that they were looking in a mirror. A heavy, nearly unbearable silence was hanging in the room, broken just by the soft sound of the steps of Rudiger, who quickly vanished into Varian's room, thinking that it was best if he stayed out of this. Varian suddenly lowered his gaze, as a feeling of uncertainty took over him. He wanted to speak, to ask but...

_ No. No backing out this time.  _ Varian thought and lifted his gaze again, to meet his Dad's who had walked over to him. "So... How did it go?" He asked.

"...This time, fine. Though we can't afford a repetition of whatever happened today." Quirin answered. His tone was stern and reprimanding, but (so far) void of anger.

"I-I wasn't talking about the meeting with the townspeople." Varian said, his eyes directing to his Dad's foot, that was now all wrapped up and taken care of. Probably someone in the village offered to tend it.

Quirin's gaze followed his son's letting out a silent sigh. The show was about to begin again from the top. First he made up the excuses for the townspeople an now he had to do the same for Varian.

"...Fine." Was all he answered.

Fine... Varian just couldn't believe him!

"Dad, you came back hurt again. I saw you limping when you were leaving. How is that fine? What happened?" Varian said, raising his voice steadily, while at the same time being careful not to start shouting.

"Varian, I told you before not to worry about me and what happens at job." Quirin said, raising his voice too.

"And I told you that you can't ask this from me! How can I not worry about you when-when you leave and you return like this? And speaking about your job, **what** is it? And please don't tell me the same old excuse. I want the truth."

Quirin turned away, before Varian could see the worry and denial in his eyes. Of course he would want the truth and of course he was gonna have to tell him someday, but... now?

"I know you do, son. But, you...you're not ready for the truth." He said without turning to face him, his words making Varian's frustration grow.

"And-and how do you know that?" He asked standing up.

"You have to trust me on th-"

"NO! How can I trust you when you keep secrets from me?!" Varian spat, finding the chance to ask for some other things as well. "You're hiding from me what your job is and why it demands us to move so often. You're never really telling me why do we need to keep the fact that I'm an alchemist a secret... You've never even told me what exactly happened to Mom! How can I trust you when you don't trust me?!"

"Trust you?! Trust you?! Varian, do you have any idea how many times I trusted you?! I trusted you to behave while I was away, whenever I was leaving! I trusted you to understand that I have a reason for not telling you all of this! I trusted you not to create any mess while doing all of your alchemy! I trusted you today! And what was the result?!" Quirin snapped, as he turned to his son, his temper crystal clear in his eyes, making the boy flinch.

The next thing that was heard was complete silence. Even worse than the one after he arrived at the house. This time aside from heavy, it felt cold and was sending chills in their spines. Neither of them dared to say anything. They weren't even looking at each other. They both felt trapped in this silence, until somehow Varian found the courage to speak.

"I'm sorry..." He said softly, keeping his gaze at the floor. After another long silence his Dad answered him.

"I don't want you to say that you're sorry... I want this to stop." He said keeping his voice steady.

"It-it will. It won't happen again, I'll be more careful from now on. I promi-"

"No. You've made this promise a lot of times, Varian. I'm sorry, but that is enough with all of... **this**." He said and gestured at the trapdoor. "From now on, the basement will be off limits. And you will never work with alchemy ever again."

Varian was left looking at him dumbfounded, feeling every single word hitting him like an arrow. This was not real. It just wasn't!

"W-w-what?!" the boy stuttered unable to believe what he heard "N-no! Dad, please not that! Anything but that! Please!"

"Varian, I'm sorry, but you left me no choice." Quirin said as he walked to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I've told you that the reason this had to stay a secret, is because it draws attention. And that attention isn't always the good kind. As for... as for what happened to your mother... you must know that the day I lost her was the worst day of my life. And not just because I lost her... but because I nearly lost you too. I don't want to relive that horrible day ever again, and while I know that it probably is too much to ask... you must trust that I'm only doing this for your own good. You understand?"

Varian didn't answer. While his Dad was talking he was staring at the floor. He finally lifted his head and looked at him with an unreadable expression. Exactly like the one Quirin saw him have when he arrived. The boy then pulled away and walked up the stairs to his room. Quirin didn't stop him, even though he wanted to. It was probably better if for now they both stayed alone for a while. Before opening the door to his room, Varian turned around and said:

"You said I'm not ready for the truth. Am I really not ready to hear it... or are you just not ready to tell me?" Silence was the only answer he received "Why did I expect something more?" He said as he walked inside, closing the door behind him softly.


	6. Chapter 6

Varian leaned against the closed door behind him with a heavy sigh, slowly sinking down to the floor. Hugging his knees to his chest, he blinked a few times, to hold back the tears that were threatening to appear in his eyes. Rudiger immediately ran up to him, chittering in worry. Varian turned to look at him. The little raccoon had his eyes fixed on the boy, eyes full of worry and empathy. He turned his gaze away from him, but Rudiger refused to be ignored, especially now that he knew that he was needed. He pressed himself between Varian's chest and knees, forcing him to release his knees and settled himself on the his lap, without taking his eyes off him. Varian gave a small chuckle at the raccoon's antics and scratched him behind the ears, but that was as far as it went.

He felt his entire body numb and limp, like he was emptied, stripped of something. And he was, of a part of himself.

_The basement will be off limits. And you'll never work with alchemy ever again…_

The sound of those words, still echoing in his mind, reminding him that he was not allowed to do the thing he loved to do the most, made him feel restricted, imprisoned and simply… unnatural. He felt like he was not allowed to breathe. He just couldn't believe that this was real. He knew his Dad was really strict and overprotective, especially when it came to his interest in alchemy. But no matter how many limitations he was putting, Varian never believed he'd reach to the point of forbidding him to work with it. How did they come to this? The boy could remember cases that were worse than what happened today.

Once he caused a powerful explosion in their house with a chemical reaction. Another time, he used a chemical he crafted, that would kill insects, on the crops, but ended up ruining the entire production, because he had accidentally used too much. And one other time he nearly brought their house down while testing a machine that was supposed to produce cool breeze at hot days. These and many more like these were cases that the moving was inevitable and the most bitter. Because aside from the torture of the packing, the travel, the unpacking and the settling, Varian also had his Father's disappointment to face. And it was worse than all of the above combined together.

But despite the disappointment in his eyes, the worst punishment the boy received was a month without experimenting. Why did it have to go farther than this? Thinking all of this, his Dad's words came to his mind:

_This had to stay a secret because it draws attention and that attention isn't always the good kind._

It wasn't the first time he told him this. Varian was hearing this since he was little, but it still wasn't the most satisfying answer he could receive. He surely had seen many times how people were looking at him, how they treated him. Like he was... abnormal (And the boy would be lying if he said that he wasn't seeing himself like that too). But he was always sure that this was happening because they didn't know and that if they were to know, things wouldn't be like that. That it would be better, not worse.

Varian thought that perhaps he was overthinking it, but he couldn't shake away the feeling that this had something to do with... everything. Like it was all connected. His Dad's job, the reason his gift had to stay a secret, what happened to his Mom,... the nightmare. They were all things Varian knew nearly nothing about, things his Dad was either hiding... or ignoring.

But why? Why was his Dad keeping all these secrets from him? Why wasn't he ready for the truth? What was so wrong with wanting it, to begin with? He had every right to know everything he asked, but apparently it was too much to ask…

Varian shook his head in denial. He was not gonna go along with this. He wasn't gonna sit in the dark and give up on his alchemy. He had to go take anything he could from his lab and hide it. If his Dad wanted him to keep this a secret, then he would. Even from him. With determination shining in his eyes, the boy stood up and grabbed a bag that was left in a corner of the room. Rudiger climbed up his leg and rested on his usual spot across his friend's shoulders. Varian smiled thankfully at his raccoon, as he gently scratched his chin.

He peered his head out of the door. Much to his relief, his Dad was not in the main room anymore. He must have gone to his room. The boy walked outside as quietly as he could and went down the stairs tiptoeing. The room was dark, illuminated only by the dim natural light of the stars and the moon, which was coming through the windows. Varian could barely see the steps of the stairs as he was heading down, hoping that his well-known clumsiness would stay at bay, so he wouldn't fall flat down. He turned to the trapdoor, but as he tried to open it, he realised something that he should have anticipated:

 _Locked! Of course, it's locked!_ Varian thought.

He raised his head and looked at the door to his Dad's room and with fast quiet steps, he went up the stairs again, towards it.

He peered into the keyhole and saw his Dad sitting on his bed, hiding his face in his hands. Varian's heart tightened at the sight. They may have had a fight, he may have been mad at him, but he was still his Dad, looking really disappointed and sad. Perhaps he was thinking where did he do wrong with Varian, or what was he gonna do with him... For a moment the boy thought of turning back, but he didn't. He had to get the key for the trapdoor... somehow. Where could it be actually? If his Dad had it on him there was no way to take it. But then again, even if it wasn't, how was he even gonna get inside without being noticed? Varian's eyes fell on Rudiger, who gave him an unsure look, realising what he had in mind.

He was rather quiet and as a naturally nocturnal animal he could see in the dark, but still he would walk right inside the room, while Quirin was still there and if he noticed him, if he realised what he came to do, what Varian sent him to do... things would get bad. A lot worse than they already were.

Varian looked at the critter with a pleading (nearly desperate) look and mouthed the word 'Please.'.

And that was enough to convince him to get that key. The thought that this look would make his friend's face its forever home if he didn't do it. The reminder of how empty he looked only half an hour ago after that argument, it was the point that convinced him to go in there.

Varian smiled thankfully at Rudiger and peered back in the room. He saw his Dad slowly getting up and walking towards the other side of the room, with his back at the door. Varian wasted no minute and opened the door as slowly as humanly possible so it wouldn't make a sound as it was opening. He left Rudiger walk off his shoulders and inside the room and then shifted his gaze to his Dad, who was now staring at a painting hanging on the wall. Varian followed his gaze at the painting, on which was falling gently the moonlight through the two windows it was hanging between.

The painting was depicting a younger Quirin, a baby Varian and a woman with light brown hair tied in a bun, wearing a simple red dress. She was Bridget, Varian's Mother. The two parents were holding their giggling baby son in their arms smiling warmly.

Both Varian and Quirin kept their gazes at the painting, both forming a small smile, as they felt a memory coming to life. A common memory of a simpler time and place as a soft sound broke the silence.

Varian could hear his Dad mumbling... mumbling... the melody of a lullaby he was singing to him when he was little. Hearing the familiar melody, while at the same time looking at the painting, he felt the memory getting stronger. Instead of just having the feeling that the painting was coming alive, he was now feeling like he could see the faces of his parents above him (even though his Mom's face was a little blurry), like he could faintly hear them talking to him, like he could feel the warmth of their embrace.

Suddenly, he felt something touching his leg. He blinked shaking his head, barely holding back a yelp of surprise. He felt like he was coming out of a daze. He looked down and saw Rudiger with the key in his mouth. Varian gave him a smile and made a step back to make place for the raccoon to pass. He turned to close the door and left, giving his Dad one last sad glance. A part of him wanted to walk inside the room, but...

Rudiger made a quiet worried chittering, looking at the boy. He shook his head, giving Rudiger a small reassuring (but fake) smile. He then walked back down the stairs to his lab.


	7. Chapter 7

Quirin sighed looking at the painting. His expression changing from a smile to a frown. So many things he had connected to that painting. Memories, thoughts,... regrets.

No matter how much he wanted to focus on the first two, it was always the regrets that seemed to get the best of him. And how couldn't they, since he was facing them right now at the painting before him? Since he himself had put them there, when he was painting it, in the form of his wife's image?

Quirin would never forget how hard he had worked for it. For the first and last time he painted something without her. One more tiny regret to add to the pile, but it was neccesary for him and Varian. So they would have something to look at and remember her. When he was little, Varian would spend a long time (sometimes hours) staring at the painting like he was expecting something to happen. And he would always ask questions after he was done or while he was still at it.

_How did you met her? What was she like? Did she love us? Why isn't she here with us? Where is she now?_

_Why are her eyes closed?_

While the answers he was giving him had touches of truth, they were mainly made of lies and silence, and while he thought they would be enough until the right time, Varian made it clear today that they weren't.

Truth be told, Varian had never really given any signs that he was content with them, but he hadn't made a fuss out of it. The only answer he seemed to actually accept was the one about the reason why his Mother's eyes were painted closed. Quirin had said that it was because he had very few blue paint and it was not enough, explaining also why Varian's image was painted with closed eyes. And even though his son had offered to make some paint himself, he declined the offer claiming that he would have to start from scratch. Not the best answer (excuse), but at least Varian believed it.

What else was he supposed to say? That he had tried to paint her eyes, but he couldn't? That this was because whenever he was trying to even picture them his hand would start shaking and he would lose his focus? And all of this because whenever he was trying he could feel her final gaze of light blue cut through his heart like a knife? Cold and sharp. Full of agony and pain and sadness... and fear.

Bridget had always been brave. Perhaps braver than he, or anyone else or even she herself knew. But still, how brave can someone be when they are face to face with the inevitable?

Quirin would know, for he had been there and back again many times himself and he would be lying if he said that it wasn't scary. But if there was something that was scaring him even more, it was the thought of seeing that very same fear in another beloved pair of light blue eyes.

This thought was always haunting him since that horrible day, the day he told his son that he didn't want to relive. One more lie. He had failed at that a long time ago. He had already relived that day more times than he could count, today being one of them and probably one of the absolute worst.

Today he thought he'd lose his son not one, not two, but three times. Could he be more incompetent than that? Today they were both lucky, they both made it through and Varian was safe in his room in the end, but would they be this lucky the next time?

The next time... what would happen? What was really in store for them now? Where would they go from where this day's events had lead them?

_The basement will be off limits... And you will never work with alchemy ever again._

Along with his words, came to his mind the look on Varian's face. Shocked and confused with a hint of hurt and fear. And after that, devastation and despair hanging from a plea in an attempt to make him take these words back.

That was something Quirin really wished he could do, even though he knew that he had no other choice. In all honesty, he was never really suportive of his son's interest in alchemy and many times he had tried to dissuade him from it, but Varian just couldn't let it go. It was a part of who he was, his passion, what allowed him to live. And despite the fact that his experiments were backfiring many times, Quirin had to admit that his son had managed to create some pretty fascinating things. Like some chemicals that could be used as light sources when shaken, and those stickbombs he had crafted to keep pests at bay. But unfortunately, successes like these were not as usual as the accidents. And they would still attract unwanted attention. Varian always believed that things would be easier if they... if **he** wasn't hiding, that people would be impressed by what he could do, what he had to offer. And Quirin had tried many times to believe it too. But he knew that he couldn't, no matter how hard he would try.

Even if the world would indeed be accepting and impressed by Varian's gift, they'd still have something bigger to face. And with the world knowing about Varian, it would be harder for Quirin to keep him safe from it. He couldn't take any chances with this.

Wrong.

He couldn't take any **more** chances with this. He had already taken too much, from the day his son showed interest in alchemy until today.

That was strange. On the one hand he was thinking that this was wrong. That since he couldn't dissuade Varian's interest in alchemy, he had failed from the start. But on the other hand, he could see how happy, how complete, how alive he looked doing anything that was about his gift, from creating a chemical compound to simply trying to explain to him with every single detail how he would craft it and what it would do. Though the reason was kinda unusual (since Quirin didn't know many children who would have interests like Varian's), his son was depicting all his life the typical enthusiasm and joy every child was, if not more than that. And this was actually something that the man had promised that he would give to his son from day one: a normal life. Well, as normal as it could be.

But over time, he was forced to change that promise, for he couldn't give him a normal life. Instead, he would make sure that his life would be as normal as possible for as long as possible. Because (unfortunately) he wouldn't be able to shield him from the truth forever. Another big problem.

Varian didn't want to be shielded. He wanted the truth. The truth he had every right to know, but was not ready to. It was too soon for him to know, he was only fourteen. If he learned the truth, like he wanted, there would be no turning back to the way things were until now. Everything would change and they weren't ready for those changes.

They?

_You said I'm not ready for the truth... Am I really not ready to hear it... or are you just not ready to tell me?...Why did I expect something more?_

Varian's final words before he vanished into his room echoed in Quirin's mind.

He suddenly opened his eyes. He had fallen to his knees, still standing before the painting. When did he do that? When and how did he end up kneeled to the floor without noticing? Did he drift into his thoughts so much that he forgot where he was? And when did he close his eyes? Why did he suddenly feel his body so heavy?

He ran a gloved hand through his dark hair, taking a deep breath, before standing up again. The picture of the baby in the painting the first thing he saw standing up.

The baby was giggling.

That was all he was doing back then. Other babies were crying when born, but Varian as soon as he first came to the world burst into giggling. That was a big surprise. A pleasant one without a doubt.

The baby had a small blue streak in his hair.

He had it since birth and it became more distinctive as time passed. That was another surprise, but it matched his eyes.

The baby was growing up and he was right.

While Quirin was certain without the tiniest doupt that his son was not ready to know yet, he knew that neither he was ready to tell him. He was afraid. Afraid of the changes, afraid of the dangers they'd bring guaranteed, afraid of Varian's reaction...

Normaly, he'd still keep the truth a secret. Anyone who would be in his place would do that. But... aside from all of this... no... next to all of this, another problem was appearing: Varian's trust was breaking. That actually shouldn't surprise the man that much. Varian had told so himself: How could he trust him when he was keeping secrets from him? Still though, this couldn't happen. He needed his trust. Without it, would he be able to convince him to help him pack when it would be neccesary to move again? Would he be able to go to job next time there'd be a problem without having to worry that he would come after him? Also, the fact that some time ago he forbade him from doing the thing he loved to do the most did not help the situation at all.

He couldn't let this happen, but he couldn't think of anything to prevent it either. Except...

No! Not that! He wasn't going to think of that again! It was just too soon! Too soon... Now it was too soon. But if it went for the worst and his son stopped trusting him, then... then it would probably be too late next time.

Quirin let out another sigh, as he turned his gaze to the window.

The moon was hanging into the darkness of the sky. Majestic and bright, shining above the realm, watching over everyone and everything through this time of darkness, the glimmering stars, spread all over the dark blue, assistants to this duty. The moon was a full moon. Complete and clean. Having nothing to hide.

Whether he liked it or not, whether he was ready or not, Quirin had to be like it now. If he wanted to save Varian's trust from breaking... he had to tell him.


	8. Chapter 8

_29 of April._

_Time since the last day of the nightmare: About two years._

_The day had been perfectly normal. While Dad was away doing small jobs at the town, I perfected my latest chemical compound. A formula that allows plants to grow in a matter of minutes. So far I have tested it only on flowers, like daisies and roses, but I'll try it on trees and crops too, if I ever get the chance that is... I didn't show Dad the formula. I wanted it to be a surprise. Now I kinda regret this... I wonder if he'd be impressed by it. I wonder if he's impressed by anything I ever do..._

* * *

Varian immediately erased the last sentences, silently reprimanding himself for writing them. Why did he do that? He was supposed to be writing a scientific document, not a diary!

Scientific?

Well, as scientific as a document about a random nightmare could be.

After taking as much as he could from his lab, Varian also took the document about his dream. He had decided to start studying this matter again, thinking that it could somehow help him find some answers. Although, a part of him wanted to just tear this document apart. If it was ever possible... Varian, a serious man of science occupying himself with something so... so... illogical and stupid like a dream.

A dream that for some reason kept coming back to torment him. A dream that he still found scary no matter how many times he had seen it. A dream that he was always facing alone. From what he could remember, his Dad was never there with him whenever he was waking up from that nightmare. His excuses about this varied, but the main excuse had always been one: The job.

The job that was so important that he couldn't even tell his own son what it was. The job that demanded them to move nearly all the time. The job that was not only very dangerous, judging by the way he was when he was coming back, but also very bad-paid. Most of the time, he was coming back from it with scraps and sometimes with nothing at all. Weren't for the money from the small jobs at the towns, or for the fields they were sometimes lucky enough to have with the houses, they'd probably be starving. Thinking all of this, Varian couldn't really understand why did he still do this, what did he have to earn from it.

Though he just couldn't figure out what this job was, he could tell that it apparently had some sort of connection with the rest of his Dad's secrets and the nightmare.

And as foolish as he thought it was, he had to take this nightmare more seriously, if he wanted to figure anything out.

He turned his attention to the notes about the dream itself.

_Waking up. Going to main room of the house. Dad is there..._

_And suddenly he disappears..._

_A pitch black shadowy form appears in his place..._

_Facial characteristics...: Non-existent, appears to be faceless. It only has a large pair of glowing amber eyes._

_Voice: Hard to say if it's male or female_

_Tone: Threatening, heavy, somewhat of... empty and full of emotion at the same time._ _Contempt, hatred._

_The creature speaks..._

_It says:_

_I know where you are... I know who you are, better than you know yourself..._

Varian somehow felt like he could hear it... he was awake definately, but for some reason he could hear it. He turned to the notes again for a reason he didn't know, like they were somehow forcing him to read them. A chill ran down his spine as he read them again, as he felt that he could hear the voice again. His eyes went wide, his pulse started racing, his heart beating loud in his ears, his breathing turning fast and shuddering, his body trembling, waking up the raccoon that was sleeping curled up around his feet.

_I know where you are... I know who you are, better than you know yourself..._

"No!" Varian said, nearly shouting, as he crushed the paper in his hands and threw it on the other side of the room, before sinking down to his bed, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm down.

Rudiger jumped on the bed making worried chitterings. The boy could tell how much he scared his friend with... whatever that was. He sat up straight as Rudiger made his way to him and sat on his lap. Varian picked him up and brought him close in a hug, stroking his back gently. The little critter was purring softly, while rubbing his head against Varian's chin. The boy held him tighter, as he let the comfort of the moment take all that shock and stress from before away.

"I'm sorry I scared you, buddy." The boy muttered, as he pulled away and placed him back on his lap.

He then looked away with a sad and confused expression. His gaze fell on the crushed piece of paper, and the raccoon's followed it.

What happened to him? And why? He didn't know, but he knew that whatever it was, it was scary. Scary like the nightmare itself... Varian suddenly remembered... why he had stopped, why he had **truly** stopped thinking about it: It was scaring him. Varian was a stubborn kid since forever and even if he couldn't always figure out how to finish or perfect a project, he would never give up on it. Set it aside for a moment, yes, but completely give up on it, never. But this dream... this blasted dream, he just couldn't. He couldn't figure it out at all. From whatever angle he would look at it, it just didn't make sense to him, he couldn't explain it at all. And that was scaring him.

And yet now he came back to it, exactly like it was always coming after him.

Varian turned his face away from the paper, cringing, with his eyes shut tight, before turning to Rudiger again.

The little critter looked really worried about him. He pressed himself closer to him, like he was telling him that he was there. Like he was asking him if he needed another hug ( though he could tell that Varian needed it). However, this time his friend didn't do it. Instead he placed the raccoon on the bed and went to stand up. His eyes back to the paper.

But before he could stand up, Rudiger jumped on his lap again, giving him a stern glare. If he was able to speak he would scold him. He could tell that he was about to bite off more than he could chew and he wouldn't let him do that. Was he really serious?! He just went through a whole shock-crisis-thing or whatever that was and he still wanted to work with that matter again?! Rudiger knew how much his friend wanted to know, anyone who'd be in his place would want, but if the only way to learn at the moment was causing him such pain, he wasn't gonna let him go through with it.

Surprisingly, Varian didn't protest further. He just lowered his gaze. His raccoon chittered at him curiously. Varian's voice came out as a whisper:

"What is wrong with me...?" He said.

Rudiger chittered at him again to get his attention. When he saw him looking at him, he shook his head with a small smile.

Varian answered with a deadpan look, before lying on his bed, not bothering to take off his gloves, goggles and apron, or even his shoes.

Maybe, he really needed to leave this alone for now and just rest a bit. Today had been a really long day and some sleep sounded great. After all, he would need energy, if he wanted to face the next day, which right now seemed really doubtfull.

The little critter pressed himself under Varian's left arm, lying beside him, the small smile still on his face. The boy couldn't help but give him a smile of his own, as he slowly stroked his friend's back and whispered him 'Goodnight.'.

Soon they both fell asleep, but unlike Rudiger, Varian was anything but peaceful.

* * *

Quirin walked outside of his room. His steps were heavy, but not heavier than his heart. He may have thought through (specifically for about two hours) what he would say to Varian and how, but that didn't make things easier. It wasn't like what he had to tell him was easy, but now it was neccesary. He saw candlelight through the door, so he had to be awake.

"Son?" He said as he opened the door, to see Varian fast asleep on his bed, the candle on the small table next to his bed still lit up.

Quirin wondered if he should wake him up or let him sleep and tell him tomorrow. Looking at him, he could tell that he was still upset, since he saw him curled up on his side. A sleeping position he was in whenever he was upset and was looking for comfort in the coolness of the world of slumber.

Should he really call him out of there and tell him something that would either make him understand or make him even more upset than he already was?

Before he could dwell on his thoughts any further, he saw Varian moving and mumbling something in his sleep. Out of instinct and habit, he rushed to his side, worry taking over him. However, much to his relief, his son was only moving his head away from the raccoon that was sleeping next to him. His fur must have been tickling his face.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Quirin gently covered his son with a blanket that was folded on the foot of the bed.

He decided to just let him sleep. He really needed some sleep after everything that happened today. And besides, if he was hiding the truth all those years, one more night couldn't make that much of a difference.

The moment the warmth of the blanket wrapped Varian up, he curled up even more, his knees nearly touching his chest. Almost like realising his movement and his still existent tension, the little raccoon in his arms let out a soft trill, turning a little closer to him.

Quirin couldn't help but smile at this. At this scene of these two, at the way the little critter (even when asleep) reacted to Varian's tension. Quirin was really grateful of the animal's presence, because he knew that the creature could do something that unfortunately he couldn't: he could always be by Varian's side. All those nights he was forced to slip out of the house, like a prisoner escaping from his prison, he was always feeling unimaginable guilt. But after the raccoon came along his concience was at some ease, because he knew that his son wasn't going to wake up from this blasted nightmare all alone anymore.

Suddenly, Varian moved again and muttered something his Dad couldn't understand. Luckily, it seemed that he wasn't having it again, but he kept muttering (a habit he had picked up thanks to that dreadfull dream), until his words were clear enough to be understood.

"Sun... down..."

It took Quirin a second to realise what he said and it actually surprised him.

Did he really want... the lullaby?

When Varian was a baby, his parents were singing it to him every night and when he was little, he wouldn't go to sleep without his Dad singing it to him. But it had been years since the last time he asked for it.

"Sun... down..." Varian muttered again.

Quirin set his surprise aside and sat on the bed, the smile still on his face. After all who was he to disagree to the wish of his sleeping son?

He reached his hand out and started running his fingers through Varian's shaggy hair soothingly, like he was doing when he was little. Then he started singing softly:

_The sun is down_

_Stars are twinkling in the sky_

_The moon is out_

_You're safe in my embrace tonight_

_Our love's as constant as the stars that shine bright up above,_

_And with this love and the night's soft breeze,_

_I've built for you a home..._

_Just sleep my dear_

_Let your worries fall behind_

_And don't you fear_

_I am not going to leave your side_

_And if there ever comes a night that I can't be with you..._

_You'll hear the moon whisper for me:_

_I love you too_

As he finished the song, he could see Varian smiling in his sleep, as he finally relaxed his position releasing his legs.

For a moment Quirin turned his face to his injured foot and then to his hands. He then stopped stroking Varian's hair, took off his gloves and looked at his hands. They were covered in scars. Some of them were earned in job, and some others in... adventures of the past. On his left hand was a familiar mark. A circle with three lines close to the center and near the edge of its left side. With a grim expression he wore his gloves again and turned back to Varian. The reason he had earned some (perhaps most) of those scars. But he didn't care for that. He would take a thousand of these if it meant that he'd keep his son safe. That they would have moments like this. Rare as four leaf clovers and precious as diamonds. If only Varian knew this... If only this moment could have lasted longer.

Varian suddenly gasped. He held his breath for a moment before he started releasing fast shuddering breaths. He was trembling violently, kicking the sheets like crazy and holding Rudiger even tighter in his arms. The little raccoon woke up and started chittering in alarm and pain, trying to break free from Varian's grip. Quirin turned to help the critter, but the moment he touched his son to make him release his friend, he started thrashing.

"No! No! Don't touch me! Leave me alone! **Leave me alone!** " He screamed as he kept thrashing, until Rudiger managed to get away from his grip.

From all the thrashing, Varian fell off the bed, still screaming and trembling. Quirin stood up in alarm and Rudiger rushed next to Varian. The man and the raccoon exchanged a worried look, both knowing what was happening: Varian was having the nightmare.


	9. Chapter 9

Varian was a trembling mess tossing and turning on the floor, engulfed in a world of agony. Quirin could do nothing but stare at his son, his heart breaking for him with every trembling of his body, with every scream escaping his throat.

The part of him that wanted to stay and be there when Varian would wake up had took over again, like every other time he was having that dreadful dream. But he quickly pushed that part away. He knew that he had to go. Looking at Varian, he could tell that things were really bad. There was no time to lose. He turned around and reluctantly left the room, leaving Varian alone with Rudiger, who was curled up next to his friend.

The little raccoon kept some distance from the boy, concerned that getting too close would make him worse. After all, he saw how he reacted before when Quirin touched him. But even if he did get close, there was nothing he could do to help him. Like Quirin, he knew from experience that when Varian was having the nightmare, there was no way he'd wake up until it was over. Some times it wasn't so bad, like last night, but Rudiger could remember that once or twice Varian had woken up crying. This time, however... it had to be the worst. Looking at his friend's pained form, hearing his horrified screams and knowing that there was nothing he could do to help him until it was over on its own... it was pure torture and frustration. It made Rudiger feel so inadequate and useless! What good was he if he was unable to help his friend get out of this? If all he could do was just be there when he'd wake up?

Varian suddenly jolted awake with a final loud scream. He held onto the small desk next to his bed, like he was holding on for dear life, taking deep, fast breaths. It was like he needed some time to process the fact that he was awake, that it was over.

It was over, wasn't it? Then why did he feel that he could hear that voice... still ringing in his head? Haunting, threatening... Repeating with intensity:

" **I found you, Varian...!** "

Varian was unsure whether it was because of that or not, but from the moment he woke up he felt a sharp pain in his head, getting stronger and stronger. His eyes started to sting and... burn? He shut them tight as the pain was slowly swallowing him whole, barely allowing him to move. The screams of fear from before, now became screams of pain, getting louder and more agonizing to listen to.

Despite his screaming and the constantly increasing rush into his head, the boy could faintly hear a shocked chittering. Rudiger! He was here (at least he was...)! But why wouldn't he come to him? Why did he... A sound of fast steps was heard...No... Was Rudiger... leaving him?!

The little critter stormed out of the room with a sudden speed, that he didn't really know he had. Jumping the stairs three at a time, he rushed to the door. It was closed! He jumped a few times, trying to reach the handle, but he couldn't. Why did it have to be closed?! Why did he have to be so short?! He turned his head to Varian's room for a moment. Light was coming from it and it was not candlelight. He had to get out, he had to get help. Now!

What to do? What to do...? Chairs! They had chairs! Rudiger rushed and pushed one of them to the door. He then jumped on it and reached the handle of the door. He frantically ran outside and turned to the stable next to the house, hoping that Quirin hadn't left yet.

When he reached his destination, much to his relief, the man was still there, getting ready for job. Rudiger started chittering at him as loud as he could, worry and a sense of emergency in every sound.

Quirin, who had turned to grab a sheathed sword, turned to look at him. His worried expression changed to a surprised one, but he didn't keep his eyes on the frantic raccoon for more than five seconds. He couldn't waste a moment, not twice in a row.

Seeing that just chittering wasn't doing much, Rudiger ran to him and started biting his pant legs. Quirin shook his leg with force, shooing him away. For a moment, the little critter stood there, staring at the man with desperation and frustration, when he noticed the sword he was ready to adjust to his belt.

He quickly jumped, grabbed it from his hands in his mouth and ran outside as fast as he could. Like he was gonna let him go to that stupid job now that Varian was... He didn't even know what was happening to him. And Quirin was the only one who could know something, who could help him.

Speaking of him, he immediately chased after the raccoon, to retrieve his sword.

 _Great, just great... More time going to waste...!_ He thought huffing in annoyance.

But when he reached the house he stopped dead on his tracks. Light. A strong bright blue light was coming from the house, specifically from the room he left with great reluctance, in which the little critter had just ran. So that was what he was trying to tell him. Varian needed help.

Quirin stormed inside, pushing a chair in front of the door out of his way and slamming the door behind him. He ran upstairs to Varian's room... and there he was...

* * *

Varian was lying on the floor almost completely limp. He was curled up in a ball of nerves and pain, his hands gripping tight his head, and a heavy blanket of bright blue light, coming from the blue streak in his hair, was covering him and the entire room. His entire body was cold and his head was burning. It was like a huge sphere of fire on top of his body, getting stronger by the second, just like the glow coming from his blue streak. And to top it all off, that voice was still there, dissing his name.

_Varian... Varian... Varian..._

" **Va...an!** "

Another voice! Oh great, now there was two of them. What was next? Would there be a third one too?

Steps were heard and then Varian suddenly felt two hands gripping tight yet gently his shoulders, incenting him to sit up straight. The sudden contact shocked him, but he didn't have the strenght to resist. The second voice called to him again, this time clearer:

"Son! Son, open your eyes! Please!"

"D-Dad?" He muttered surprised, as he slowly opened his eyes.

Quirin barely managed to hold back a shocked gasp, when his son opened his eyes. They were glowing too, just as intensely as the blue streak in his hair. His pupils were only slightly visible in the glow.

Varian, on his side, could barely see anything. Everything was shaky and blurry and his Dad's form before him was nothing but a spot of color in the blur. And this wasn't all. It hurt. It hurt to try seeing clearly, to try seeing at all. His eyes were burning.

"No! No no no no! Varian, look at me! Eyes here!" Quirin said, cupping his son's face, when he saw him ready to close his eyes again.

"I can't! It hurts!" Varian's voice came out as a weak breathless scream.

"VARIAN-" The sense of emergency forced Quirin to yell, as he shook the boy, to make him keep his eyes open.

But he quickly stopped, not really knowing what to say next and regretting that he yelled. This was not going to help. If anything, it would only make things worse.

Varian raised his eyes, struggling to keep them open. Pure terror and pain were painted all over them and slowly falling down his face in the form of silent tears.

"What's happening to me?" He asked, his voice cracking at some points. "You know, don't you?! You know! How does it stop? Tell me, HOW DOES IT STOP?!" He raised his voice, his every word dripping with desperation.

Quirin slowly moved his right hand behind the boy's head, gently ruffling his hair. His other hand, holding his shoulder tighter.

"Shhh...Listen to me... It's okay. It's all going to be okay. Don't be afraid." He said calmly (A part of him hoping he was telling the truth)

Varian opened his mouth to say something, but his Dad continued before he could do so.

"Listen. You have to try to relax. Just breathe and try to relax. It's hard I know, but it's the only way. If you let this rush go and flow in you, the pain will follow it and it will disappear. Remember, you have control over this and no one else. You can stop all this, all you have to do is relax and remind it its place."

Varian's expression held a million questions and confusion. But right now, it wasn't like he had another choice. Taking his Dad's every word in, he forced his breathing to slow, trying to relax and silently repeating the words in his head. Surprisingly, it was working. Varian could slowly feel his headache to stop, as all of the rush that was gathered there was spreading all over his body and he felt his strenght coming back. It felt like all his blood had gathered on top on his head and now was rushing through his body again. At the same time the glow from his hair and his eyes was fading and Varian's vision was getting clearer. As the last bit of the bright blue light disappeared, The boy suddenly fell limp in his Dad's arms.

"Varian! Son?" Quirin ventured, hoping that he would respond.

Fortunately, seconds later, the boy opened his eyes with a soft groan. His gaze was tired and a little unfocused, but (thank goodness) not glowing.

"Dad...? Wha-what...What happened?" He asked, slowly coming to.

Sighing in relief, Quirin helped his son sit up straight. But before he was able to answer him, a loud noise coming from the stable got their attention. The sudden noise was followed a series of terrified neighs. Someone was at the stable, and Quirin knew very well who it was. He didn't have to go to job anymore. It was right in their doorstep.


	10. Chapter 10

The neighs of the horse from the stable kept going on and on, echoing terror and pain. It didn't take Quirin long to realize what was happening to the animal, and that the same would happen to them if they didn't get out of there fast. For obvious reasons, leaving from the front door was out of the question, so there was only one way out.

"Come on." He said as he grabbed Varian's arm, making him stand up too and with fast steps he walked to his room, taking Varian with him.

"Dad, what's going on? Someone's at the stab-" Varian begun.

"I know." His Dad cut him off searching something through some drawers.

Varian opened his mouth to say something but stopped once he heard a quiet chittering. He turned around and saw Rudiger with a sword in his mouth, looking at him with an intense expression. It almost looked like he was trying to warn him about something. Varian turned to look at his Dad, who was still rummaging around in the drawers, and the realization hit him like a million bricks: For some reason, he was looking for the key to his lab. Varian immediately put his hand in a side pocket of his apron, in which he had put the key, but much to his shock, it wasn't there. It must have fallen off when he fell off the bed before.

Varian looked nervously at Rudiger and kneeled next to him. But as soon as he did, the worry on his face gave its place to puzzlement and curiosity and for a moment he found himself staring at (perhaps even marveling) the sword his friend was holding.

 _No, no, no! Varian, keep it together! Now it's not the time!_ He thought quickly, bringing himself back to reality. "The key must have fallen somewhere near my bed!" He whispered to his raccoon "Fin-"

"Varian." Quirin's voice startled him.

Varian could feel every hair on his body having stood on end as he heard it, and before he knew it he had stood up, still with his back turned to his Dad. Could he really turn around? Even if he survived everything that happened before (including the incident after his nightmare), now he was really done for. Lying of course wouldn't get him anywhere. It might even have got him into more trouble. Something was telling him that his lab would probably not be the only place that would be locked… In the end, he took a silent deep breath, before he turned around to face his Dad.

"Y-yeah...?" He said trying to sound casual (and failing miserably...).

"Listen. I'm not going to yell, I'm not going to be mad, I just want you to tell me something. Did you take the key to the basement?" He asked.

Varian was surprised, if not shocked, not only by his words, but also by his tone. No, especially by his tone. As he expected, Varian could hear anger in his voice, but he could also hear something else that was stronger than that. He could also hear nervousness. But even that sounded almost... concealed. Varian didn't need anything else to realize that something big was up.

"Yes... I did. But now I don't have it because it probably fell off my pocket after I fell off the bed." Varian said breathlessly, bracing himself. "Why-why do you ask?" He asked with a sheepish and curious expression.

He really would be lying if he said that he wasn't curious about why his Dad would want the key to his lab. And now, after his nightmare and the whole strange incident, not to mention the fact that someone was at the stable as they were speaking.

But before his Dad was able to say anything, another noise was heard from outside. A loud neigh. Louder than any of the ones that were heard before, and exactly after it... a loud thud.

What followed was silence. Cold enough to make anyone freeze and be on guard, prepared for anything that could be strong enough to break it.

In this case, that was a loud 'bang' of a door opening (or probably shattering) from outside.

Quirin felt his blood freezing in his veins. That was it. They had run out of time.

No, he couldn't dwell on it, not now! He had a job to do. He just needed to make it quick. And before that, he needed to make sure that his son would stay out of it.

He walked past Varian and grabbed his sword from Rudiger's mouth, before quickly adjusting it to his belt.

"Uh, Dad-" Varian tried to ask, overcome with uneasiness, but his Dad shushed him and left, closing the door behind him.

Confused and frustrated, Varian was about to open it, when suddenly he heard the sound of... something clicking?! He pushed the handle, but the door wouldn't open. It was locked.

"Dad! Dad, what are you doing?! What-what's going on?! Let me out!" Varian yelled trying in vain to open the locked door, only for his Dad to shush him again.

"I'll explain everything later, I promise. But for now, stay put and don't make a sound! No matter what!" He whispered urgently, making him stop as he got down the stairs.

Suddenly, a cricking noise was heard as the front door opened slowly. Varian kneeled down and peered outside from the keyhole, but the only person he could see was his Dad, standing his ground and holding firmly in his hand the now unsheathed sword from before.

For once again, the boy found himself staring at it. He didn't really know much about swords, but he could recognize the hard work that was put on that one. What he couldn't recognize at all, however, was the material its black blade was made of.

Although, before he could think of it any longer, a laugh suddenly echoed in the house. It sounded like a woman's laugh and even though it sounded joyful, it was sending chills to Varian's spine. It somehow felt scary and twisted and... wrong. And actually… where was it coming from?

Rudiger moved closer to Varian, letting out a soft scared trill and slightly trembling, and the boy ran his fingers through his fur reassuringly, before turning his attention again outside.

Quirin took a few steps forward after he heard the laugh, his eyes carefully scanning around the house for anything... odd. Like a strange shadow moving beside him.

He quickly stabbed the sword to the ground, where the shadow was. And with the sound of the splintering wood came out a hoarse scream. Quirin prepared to move the sword upwards, when all of a sudden, the shadow started taking shape, depth and color, emerging into the third dimension, and in a matter of seconds, in its place was a woman covered with a black cloak.

She quickly stood up, pulling the ends of her long red dress out of the sword, slightly tearing them. That seemed to make her wince a bit, but nonetheless she made a nonchalant noise as she removed the hood from her face with a flourish.

As she did, dark curly tresses fell over her shoulders, like the night falling over the world after the sun is gone. Her cold grey gaze fell directly on Quirin like the winter wind, as it always did whenever he faced her.

Varian was still watching through the keyhole, and the moment he saw her, his stomach twisted in a knot. He had seen, of course, how she went from a shadow to a human being, which of course was impossible and made him want to slam his head against a wall, but that felt only like a part of his reaction. Of this uneasiness, this fear that her presence was causing him. It nearly felt... familiar. But how? Who was that woman to begin with?

"Ugh, did you really have to ruin my dress? If you wanted to see me, you could have just said so. I'm in no mood for violence tonight, after all..." She said simply, her words sprinkled with annoyance and irony.

"If, by some miracle, that's true, then turn around and leave. Now!" Quirin said angrily, pointing her with his sword.

Although, that didn't seem to intimidate her. If anything, she looked amused.

"Leave? Now? But I just came! And trust me when I say that finding you was **not** easy this time. You really know how to pick a place, I'll give you that." She said as she walked past him with a fast step "Besides... as I said, I'm in no mood for violence tonight. So why don't we just sit and have a civilized conversation, hm? It's been a **pretty** long time since our last one... Remember?" She asked with a smile, sitting on the table cross-legged (apparently, she was making herself at home... even though she wasn't asked to.).

Quirin clenched his fist hearing her words, the memory of that last conversation a bitter sting in his thoughts.

"You have the audacity to ask for a 'civilized conversation'... after everything you've done?!" He growled and charged at her.

His eyes were clouded with a flare of pure rage, throwing at her daggers, which wouldn't cause more damage than his blade… If she hadn't wore her hood and disappeared a second before. All his hit managed to do was to shatter the chair she was sitting on.

"Oh, listen to him! Speaking like **I'm** the bad guy in this story!" She huffed a laugh, her tone sarcastic and angry, and materialized herself behind him "Then, what about you?! What about everything **you've** done?! In case you've forgotten, your hands are no cleaner than mine!"

Varian's jaw dropped when he heard this. He knew what he heard, but he didn't believe it. He couldn't believe it! His Dad was a good and honest man, he would never… It was a lie! She was lying! She was crazy!... Wasn't she? Varian waited for his Dad to say something, **anything** , to deny all that this woman said. But he didn't say anything.

He couldn't let himself. Lingering to her words and giving them value would do nothing but feed his anger. And after all...

_"A warrior who succumbs to his anger is as good as dead."_

How could he forget the basics? And more importantly, how could he forget who he was facing? He should remember by now that attacking her first was giving her advantage and that if he wanted to keep the odds in his favor in a battle against her, he should watch her carefully and know when to attack.

She cleared her throat and smiled slyly again before she continued speaking.

"Well, look at that. You haven't forgotten… But in any case, right now neither of us has anything to earn from reminiscing the past. And since you don't seem all that enthused with the idea of a conversation, I'm gonna get straight to the point. Not that you don't know, I suppose…" Her tone was getting more and more deadly with every word. "You've got something that belongs to me. Give it up nice and slowly and I promise I won't hurt you... a lot."

"Have you forgotten?" Quirin said, turning around to face her, the anger in his face more controlled and less intense than his determination. "The day I do that is the day the sun dies. Guess people are right saying that memory fades with age."

Through gritted teeth, the woman's face twisted in anger, and a faint amber glint appeared in her eyes, while at the same time the end of Quirin's blade glowed dimly light blue, and so did Varian's blue steak.

"I'm a patient woman, Quirin. But fourteen years of patience are too much, even for me." She hissed, the glint in her eyes getting more intense, like the blue glows "I won't wait any longer. If you still refuse to do this the nice way… then I'll have no choice, but to use force."

"Go ahead!" He said regaining his battle position.

The woman laughed at his response. Her laughter lacked humor and sounded nearly threatening.

"I'm sorry, I should have explained it better. I won't do this to you... alone." She said as a sadistic smile made its way to her face. "Outside of this house there are ten of my best men. And all around the village one hundred of them. It only takes one call from me, or at least a snap of my fingers and they… well… Let's just say, they'll show no mercy. In conclusion, think of this: Haven't enough innocent souls paid for what you did?"


	11. Chapter 11

Varian quickly forced himself to move away from the door, for the glow in his hair just got stronger. Unlike before, his head was not hurting, but something else was happening. Something worse. He felt something inside him stir, urging him to go outside, nearly like it was pulling him. And unfortunately, he wasn't the only one feeling this.

"There it is!" the woman's quiet gleeful voice slithered like a snake through the silence, through the door, and Varian felt a terrifyingly familiar chill ran through his spine.

**_I found you, Varian...!_ **

Suddenly, it all painfully clicked. A woman turning to shadow, an amber glint in her eyes, a threatening voice demanding something that's hers... and the same fear.

 _No._ That was Varian's first thought _No! No! No!_

There was no way- she couldn't be... No, this whole thing, it didn't make sense! It didn't make sense at all!

Or... maybe...

"No, you don't!"

"Seems like you made your choice, Quirin!"

The voices from outside brought Varian back to reality. And if they didn't, a loud bang did. It sounded like two things had clashed. Hard. After that, a series of noises echoed altogether. Windows breaking, fast steps, swords getting unsheathed and clashing, a worried yet angered voice covered by the fuss and a snarl above it. Rudiger chittered curiously at Varian, who turned back to the door, but as he did a black hooded form appeared before him, slowly removing the hood to reveal the face of the dark-haired woman, while at the same time all the noise from outside faded completely.

The boy quickly staggered back, nearly falling on the floor. Rudiger moved next to his friend growling at the woman, his tail was fluffed up in an attempt to look more intimidating. Her attention, however, seemed to be entirely on Varian.

"So, there you are. At last, the famous Varian…" She said with a smile, as she looked at him critically. "I expected you to be taller."

Varian looked at her with confusion (trying to ignore this weird feeling inside him and the glow in his hair), his eyes never leaving her amber gaze.

With the same critical look on her face, she moved towards him.

"S-stop! Whoever you are, stay back!" He said backing away from her, Rudiger never leaving his side.

"Oh, stop already and let me look at you! The last time I saw you, you were just a tiny little thing." She said as if she was some distant relative and circled him, her eyes scanning him carefully. "Hmm… And now you're just a scrawny little thing… Your attire… could have been a lot better. Your hair is… **pretty** nice," She said, her eyes locking on to his glowing streak, making Varian's blood go cold. "and… your face. Those… those eyes. They're so…!" The last words left her mouth with bitterness, as she reached her hand out to touch Varian's face.

But before she could do so, Rudiger jumped on her and climbed up to her face, biting and scratching her. She screamed in pain, taking a few steps away from Varian, but she quickly managed to grab the raccoon and threw him at the other side of the room.

"Rudiger!" the boy called out in alarm and rushed next to his friend "You okay?" He asked, gently scooping him in his arms.

Rudiger gave a soft trill as a response. Varian raised his head to look at the woman, with rage painted all over his features. She turned to him and gave him a glare of her own, full of annoyance and disgust. Her face though, didn't seem to be really hurt. Instead, it looked… older.

"That thing's yours? And I thought you had a problem with pests around here." She said, her tone matching her expression.

"All right, that's enough! Just, who are you? And how do you know about me?" Varian demanded angrily, as he stood up.

"Wait, you mean you really don't know? Hasn't your **daddy** told you?" She asked, her voice a mixture of surprised and sarcastic.

As soon as the question left her mouth, the anger in Varian's face gave its place to confusion and curiosity.

The woman then looked at him with a pity, that it was hard to tell if it was genuine or not, and walked to him.

"Oh, you poor little thing. It really pains me to even think just how much he must have hidden from you. How many lies he must have told you…" she said as she reached him and cupped his face. "My name is Gothel. And I am your mother."

"My… my what?!" Varian exclaimed as he pulled away. He had thought about it before, but now he was one hundred percent sure: She was crazy. "You're not my mother!"

Gothel simply laughed. "Oh, really? Then who is it?" She asked, but the smile disappeared from her lips when she noticed the painting hanging on the wall.

She made her way towards it, her eyebrows knitted together in a feeling that could be described only as wrath. She carefully looked at it with the same bitterness, before speaking again.

"You think it's her, don't you? Isn't that what he told you?"

Varian didn't know what to say to this. Heck, he didn't even know if he should say anything at all right now. The sure thing was that he didn't believe her one bit. No matter how bitter or horribly certain she seemed. Varian barely remembered his Mother, since he was two or three years old when she died, but from the scraps of memory he had of her he could tell that this woman was nothing like her.

"This painting…" Gothel's scornful voice suddenly broke the silence. "It's so... so UGLY!" She called out as she summoned out of nowhere a black dagger in her hand and started tearing the painting apart.

For a moment Varian just stood there, watching her with wide eyes viciously stabbing and scratching the painting with her dagger, as an unnatural and unsettling feeling crashed over him. It was nearly like he was the one receiving the blows. But that moment didn't last long.

"STOP! STOP IT!" He yelled as he left Rudiger down and rushed to Gothel.

He grabbed her arms trying to pull her away, still screaming at her to stop, but she didn't seem willing to do so, at least not until she was certain that the painting was destroyed. In the end, the boy pushed her away, but the damage had already been done.

Varian dropped to his knees staring at the debris of a painting before him, his eyes darting wildly from piece to piece, mentally trying to put them together, as if this somehow would fix it. He couldn't believe it. This was one of the few things he... **they** had from his Mom. And now... now it was...

Rudiger had moved next to him. He felt his small front paws on his lap. He heard him chitter at him sadly. And he also heard him growl at the woman, who was now laughing while admiring her... **achievement...**

Varian gritted his teeth, holding back sad and angry tears that were pricking his eyes, and stood up, facing the smirking woman.

"Who do you think you are?!" He growled at her "How dared you do this?! Is all of this because of what my Father has?! Of that **something that belongs to you**?! Well, go take it and good riddance!"

Gothel laughed again, clearly amused. "Okay, okay... First of all, did you forget all that I said before? Or did you not hear-"

"Oh, I heard you loud and clear! The thing is: I. Don't. BELIEVE YOU!" Varian spat, having enough of this.

"Hm... Suit yourself... Guess the truth can be too harsh for us sometimes..." She sneered, spurring Varian's anger. "Secondly... you sure about that last part? 'Go take it and good riddance!'? Do you even know what it is that I want?" She asked looking at him with a scary glare.

At the same time, the amber glow in her eyes got stronger, her pupils barely visible within it, while Varian suddenly felt his body freeze and his head burning as a now familiar pain started engulfing him. His own eyes started to glow as well and with the glow came the burning, but this time he could see. He could see the bright yet hungry and obsessive amber glows before him and the darkness surrounding them and he was officially convinced:

She was the creature from his nightmare.

However, this thought was soon set aside, as a deafening sound echoed. Crying. Someone… a baby was crying… it didn't make any sense, but Varian could hear it and behind the crying, something else was heard… Screaming… someone was screaming his name. It wasn't one voice, but two. The one was closer, the other a little farther. The one was familiar and foreign at the same time, the other-

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

A hoarse scream of pain stopped everything. The amber eyes that were staring at him, the crying of the baby, the voices, the pain…

And before he could process anything, Varian for a moment felt like he was falling into the void, before his body made a painful landing on the wooden floor.


	12. Chapter 12

Varian gathered all the strength he could muster to his arms, trying to get up, but he gave out. He felt like his body was too weak, or probably too heavy for him to make any kind of movement. Even opening his eyes or simply breathing felt like the greatest of struggles and he couldn't tell if he was accomplishing them very well.

His head was spinning, the sound of his own heartbeat drumming in his ears louder than anything else, making him dizzier. Through his tired, half-lidded eyes, everything seemed so cloudy and dark (meaning that there were neither glowing amber eyes nor glowing blue hair, which was a good thing), but as the seconds were passing, his vision was getting clearer.

Two people. One of them lying on the floor, wearing a hood. The other standing firm, holding a sword. Black and unforgiving. Ready to hit, to cut, to-

Wait, it wasn't just them. There were other three people too, lying behind the man with the sword. But, why weren't they moving? Who were they?

Varian blinked, fully conscious again at last.

"Dad?" The word came out just as weak and confused as Varian himself was, and at its sound, Quirin turned around to look at him.

The expression on his face a battlefield, where too many emotions and thoughts to name clashed at breakneck speed. But Varian couldn't pay attention to him for long.

"Dad! Behind you!" He yelled.

Quirin immediately turned around, bringing his sword before him to guard himself from the blow a hooded, dagger-wielding Gothel was about to deliver. The two weapons clashed with an ear-splitting 'bang', their wielders keeping them crossed, each concentrating all their strength to the edge off their blade, unwilling to let the other break them.

"Run!" Quirin called out to Varian over his shoulder.

Varian stood up, staring at his Dad with worry and uncertainty. A part of him really wanted to run, but another part of him was screaming to stay and do something, **anything** , to help him.

But before he could think any longer, a chittering got his attention. He turned and saw Rudiger motioning with his head towards his room. His room, of course! Varian ran towards it, with Rudiger behind him.

"NO!" Gothel shrieked, trying to move past Quirin, but she had already lost much of her strength and he managed to throw her on the floor again.

She fell flat on her back and she immediately tried to blend into the shadows again. However, she couldn't. She glanced behind her and noticed that her cloak was badly torn. She immediately reached a pale, wrinkled hand out, just a second before the black, (now) glowing blade met her chest. She raised her head with an arrogant smirk and faced an unmoving Quirin, her eyes alit viciously with their amber glow piercing the shadow her hood was casting over her face.

The shock and the pain on Quirin's face turned to rage, when he met her amber, snarling glare, which was emitting an intense wave of heat. It almost felt like a giant, invisible hand made of fire had seized him, and though he was struggling to escape it, his every movement was making it stronger.

Gothel slowly stood up and he made a few steps back against his will, before his hand dropped the glowing sword, every movement a strong burning through his body.

"It hurts, doesn't it? Being someone's puppet?" She asked, her smirk widening beneath her hood "But don't worry. Once I'm done, it won't hurt at all!"

_CRASH!_

Something suddenly exploded on the floor between Gothel and Quirin, creating a small cloud of smoke. They both fell on the floor, away from each other, trying to look away from the smoke. But before it dissolved, another explosion and smoke cloud followed. And fell directly on Gothel.

Quirin tried to stand up using his sword as a cane, his breathing fast and shallow, his body heavy and boiling, but he quickly got some help.

"Dad! Dad, come on! Get up!" Varian said, as he helped him stand and walk outside of the room.

Gothel saw them go, her eyes weak, enraged and gray. She quickly tried to get up, but found herself unable to move, because a purple, goo-like substance was all over her and was keeping her glued on the floor.

"WHAT?! What kind of sorcery is this?!" She called out angrily, struggling to get herself out of the sticky trap.

But while she was doing so, she noticed that both Quirin and Varian were gone. It was then that she felt her blood going cold, at the thought that after all this time she was once again so close yet so far. She closed her eyes and screamed at the top of her lungs:

"MY PAWNS!"

* * *

Varian covered his ears, but even that couldn't shield him from that horrible cry that was heard from upstairs. Rudiger immediately jumped in his arms from the table he was standing on, trembling and letting out scared chitterings. The boy stroked gently his raccoon's fur, trying to calm him down, before turning to his Dad, who had just locked again the trapdoor leading to the basement.

"Wha-what was that?" Varian asked, and suddenly another sound was heard.

Something upstairs had shattered. And judging from the source of the sound, it had to be the door to the kitchen (This house had to be the one with the least strong doors...), but it didn't stop there.

From outside screams, shattering of glass and wood and even explosions were heard.

Quirin immediately ran past Varian, cold sweat running across his face, his heart and mind racing and a promise dominating his every thought and movement. He went for the wall below a small window that had view of the forest and moved away a table that was before it.

"Varian, I need some light." He said, struggling to keep his worry at bay.

As surprised as Varian was, he didn't question and started searching his satchel. Now it was not the time for questions. He quickly brought out a small vial containing a green chemical, which he then shaked, making it glow.

"Here." He said as he gave it to his Dad.

Quirin brought the glowing vial close to the wall, shedding light on it. Above the bottom of the wall a small brick was slightly sticking out. He pushed it inwards and with it the whole wall moved a little. Then, he went to move the wall to the right, revealing a dark passage.

Varian was looking with his jaw dropped (That added more questions to ask...)

"Come on!" Quirin said walking into the passage and Varian followed, but just as they closed the gate to the passage again, someone shattered the trapdoor.


	13. Chapter 13

Through the shatterred trapdoor, seven hooded men ran down to Varian's lab. Judging by the sound they heard before entering, they thought that their targets must have escaped through some secret door. They spread and started trashing the lab and searching the walls, trying to find something that would reveal that door.

Until one of them noticed a small brick above the bottom of the wall sticking out.

* * *

Varian, his Dad and Rudiger kept running into the dark tunnel as fast as their feet could carry them, the sounds of destruction echoing behind them in a menacing and nearly threatening way. But aside from them, something else was also starting to be heard... Steps echoing in the distance, getting closer and closer to them. The boy dared to risk a glance over his shoulder and as soon as he did an arrow flew right next to his face, the whip of wind it caused hitting him like a slap. More of them followed, missing them for mere inches.

"Wha-" Varian breathed in shock.

"Get to the end of the tunnel as fast as you can and don't look behind you!" Quirin said and Varian sped up with Rudiger on his heels, turning his head forward, just as their pursuers started catching up, and so the arrows stopped.

Sounds of clashing swords were fading in the distance. The boy winced hearing them and swallowed a lump on his throat, along with the desir- no... the need to look back. He just kept running and running, Rudiger already before him, smelling the fresh air. They were close to the end, the exit...

Until Varian heard a scream.

At that moment, his whole existance came to a screetching halt. Muscles, mind, heart, it all stopped for a moment, locking on that sound.

_Dad!_

Varian blinked, a shuddering breath escaping his throat, his eyes staring into the void... as he turned around and ran back at the direction he had come from, his steps thundering in the tunnel's walls.

His raccoon followed, chittering at him intensely, trying to convince him to turn around and keep going to the exit, but his cries were falling on deaf ears.

From the direction Varian was heading to, another sound of steps was heard, a perfect reflection to that of his own. And behind them, was a voice getting farther.

"NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET OUT O-"

The boy stopped abruptly as he saw before him a man holding in one hand his glowing vial, which was now flickering, about to go out any second. And this man wasn't his Dad. He was wearing a black cloak, his face hidden under a hood and in his other hand a rope. Varian took a step back, his hand slowly reaching for his satchel.

As soon as the glow disappeared, the man dropped the vial and rushed to Varian, who immediately staggered back, throwing at the man a vial from his satchel. Since it was dark, he couldn't tell what he threw and he didn't plan to stay to find out.

He tried to run past the man, but upon moving only a breath past him, he grabbed the boy's arms and pulled them behind his back, ready to tie them up. Varian struggled to break free, but the man was holding him so hard that it hurt.

Rudiger quickly climbed on the man, vicioucly biting and scratching him. And while he was occupied with the raccoon's attack, Varian managed to get away from his grip.

However, just as he was about to keep going, he heard Rudiger chitter in fear. Immediately after that, the critter chittered again, his tone pleading Varian to get out while they still could.

More steps were suddenly heard. More were coming. Regret washed over Varian as he followed Rudiger's chitterings back towards the exit, the steps still after them, but luckily there were no arrows this time. The moment they reached the end of the tunnel, he thought for a moment that they had reached a dead end, until he touched the wall before him and felt pieces of wood. A ladder.

"Rudiger." He said and his raccoon climbed up across his shoulders.

The boy then started climbing up, reaching the top soon. He pushed the trapdoor above him open, and came out of a large tree trunk in the middle of the forest.

As soon as he did, he closed it again and after getting another stickbomb, he threw it on the trapdoor.

"Let's see them open it now..." He said in a trembling voice, his knees buckling before giving out.

He was breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath and stop his mind from racing. Rudiger was still across his shoulders, chittering at him softly in an attempt to help him calm down.

He raised his head, looking straight ahead. The village was no longer visible from where he was, but he could still hear the destruction and the thought that his Dad was still there was gnawing at him.

He squeezed his eyes shut, lowering his head again, wishing he could shut all this noise out.

He didn't know what to do right now.

Leave for the unknown?

Find a place to hide?

Go back to the village (to his Dad?)?

The noise from the trapdoor gave him an answer. Stickbomb or not, Varian knew they couldn't stay here. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to just go away, because something at the back of his mind was clinging to some sort of expectation, or rather hope that his Dad would be okay, that tommorow morning he would be there.

_I told you not to worry about me and what happens at job... It's all going to be okay, don't be afraid... I'll explain everything later, I promise..._

Varian stood up slowly, and as fast as he could manage, he ran deeper in the forest. He knew the place very well, since he was coming there often to scavange for ingredients for his compounds or to observe the wildlife, and so he knew a place or two where he could hide.


	14. Chapter 14

A small thud was heard as a little girl's body fell on the floor and the castle was (finally) quiet again. Gothel sighed and smiled, looking at the small light blue accessory in her now wrinkleless hands. She was holding it so carefully and delicately, almost like she was holding a baby, as she turned to one of the four large, gold cabinets in the other side of the dark room she was in.

 _They say giving life is the most wonderful thing in the world..._ She thought, opening it, revealing hundreds of those small accessories. _But taking it feels so much better!_

She placed the accessory with the rest, before closing the cabinet again. Then she looked at the little girl lying on the floor. Her little dark brown eyes closed tight, her body pale, unmoving, lifeless...

"Was that the last one?" Gothel asked one of her men, who was standing guard not very far away.

He answered with a nod.

"Good. Put it with the rest and send them all to the tailors. When they're ready, come get me. Oh, and if my cloak is ready, bring it to me." She said, turning her attention to a cauldron nearby, while the man bowed and left, carrying the girl's body in his arms.

Scowling, Gothel took a ladle and gathered in it some of the dark red liquid that was in the cauldron. She looked at it carefully, making sure the color was right, before bringing the ladle closer to her face to take a sniff. As soon as she did, a smell of damaged flesh filled her nostrils.

"It seems that it's ready." She said as she poured the liquid in a small bottle. "You three! Get over here and get this to the damaged ones." She ordered other three of her men, as she turned away from the cauldron, the bottle still in her hands. "I have to take care of my guest."

* * *

_Darkness. Pitch black darkness all around, pushed away only slightly by a small green glow._

_A thundering heartbeat, a racing mind, a jolt of adrenaline, and in between some shallow breaths, barely reaching the lungs._

_..._

_Steps from behind echo louder and louder. They're coming closer and closer... They're close enough to shoot arrows and they're still speeding up. They're coming for them, for **him!**_

_No. No! No! NO!_

_It's time for work. Stay back, bring out the sword._

_Fight, protect-_

_...!_

_... ...!_

_No sound, no vision, no balance. For a moment everything fades, leaving nothing but pain, a hoarse sensation and blood on a gloved hand, that had moved instinctively, if only to temporarily shield at least one of the wounds-_

_The moment was abruptly over. No matter how much it hurt, it had to!_

_Keep standing, keep fighting, there are only four left._

_Three._

_Four?_

_Five?!_

_Steps. Heavy, fast steps and behind them, chitterings of a raccoon...!_

_...!_

_That moment..._

_No..._

_That moment was being repeated, but more intense._

_No...!_ _Must fight, must stand!_

_Can'-_

_No!..._

_...!_

_The glow had faded, the steps and the chitterings had stopped._

_Everything had stopped. Except for the pain._

_Scratches of blades, punches, kicks... All of them the result of some blind, vain attempt at resistance. Of a few foolish (perhaps even pathetic) swings of a glowing sword, which was somehow still held in an aching, red hand._

_Until a voice screamed something in the distance. Something that sounded only slightly like the word 'Enough!', and then everything faded. Even the pain. And in the final split seconds two things slipped._

_A sword and a quiet plea:_

_"_ Forgive me..."

* * *

Quirin opened his eyes (honestly surprised that he could), feeling nothing but an indescribably horrible taste in his mouth. And upon opening them, he came face to face with the one person he definitely didn't want to see.

"Welcome back. Perfect timing." Gothel said simply, her face expressing fake joy, her hands holding a small empty bottle.

Quirin made an abrupt move to stand, earning himself a sharp ache all over his body, but he didn't even sit up. Instead he fell back on the bed he was lying on, pulled by a metallic, steely grip around each of his wrists and ankles. Taking a look at himself (as good as he could), he saw that he was not only chained on that bed, but he also had bandages wrapped around both of his arms, his feet and his middle. This was either a joke or a dream (most likely a nightmare, just about to get worse.).

"Easy there. You shouldn't move, unless you want my medicine to backfire." She said coldly.

"Me-medicine...?" He said with disbelief in his voice, giving her a black look. It just kept getting better...

"A special potion of my own design, thank you, which I like to call 'Crawling Flesh'." She explained, looking back at him with a glare mirroring his own, the only difference between them, that loathsome smirk on her lips. "As the name suggests, it makes the torn skin 'crawl', thus mending and healing wounds. However, it takes some time to start working, and if the drinker just can't stand still and keeps moving and flailing all the time, then the skin will lose its balance and instead of closing, the wounds will keep opening, until all of the drinker's skin is off. Under different circumstances, nothing would make me happier than watching this, but if I really wanted you dead, I'd have let my... my pawns finish you off back there."

"Dare I ask why you didn't?" Quirin inquired, hiding dread behind his glare.

Gothel's smirk faded, before she turned away and walked to a nearby window.

"I don't know and I don't care if you'll believe me... but I'm not as heartless as you think. Besides, you out of all people should know that even a witch has a heart. That even a witch can trust and love and find a family." She said, staring outside, her tone only shy of gentle. "Until **someone** comes and destroys it all. Until **someone** comes and takes away every family she's ever had!" Slowly her voice was changing to a growl and then to a roar, but for a split second, something hanged from her words, before she quickly forced it to fall by gritting her teeth.

Pain. A pain she fought hard to overcome, and in the end, let go. She wasn't gonna let it show again. She wasn't gonna spill another tear. Especially for the last family she lost. She swallowed hard, before she continued, her voice dripping with venom:

"But then again, family equals love, and in this world love equals downfall. Perfect examples: Me, you... and soon your son!"

Quirin's eyes widened in fear. So that's why she wanted him alive. Varian had got away from her, and now she wanted a bargaining chip.

"He may have got away now, but he won't be hiding forever." Gothel said smirking again, as she walked towards the door. "Especially if he learns that I'm taking care of his dearest daddy, whom I suppose he would never fight against, right?"

Quirin thrashed against his chains, no matter how much it hurt to move, his eyes fixed on her, burning with wrath.

"Oh, come on, don't fume over that. Remember what happens if you move too much. Besides, he was never meant to have a happy ending, anyway. Just like you. Both of you." And with that, she left the room, locking the door behind her.


	15. Chapter 15

After the destruction back at the village was over, all of the forest was dead silent. Not a single animal had moved from its den or even made a sound. The silence remained even after the sunrise, and the only sound that was somehow breaking it, was a soft breeze blowing through the trees, carrying something...

Something that drifted through the woods until it stuck on a limb of an old willow tree in a small secluded gorge.

* * *

_Everything is dark, but also so soft and warm. There is tranquility and safety in the air, allowing ease and sleep and dreams. Good dreams, that even though they'll be forgotten the next day, they will still leave a smile on the face after waking up. Everything is all right, but..._

_Suddenly something comes and destroys it all._

_Pain. So sharp and so intense that it shouldn't even be real. All of the body is frozen, colder than ice. But the head... the head is burning, more intensely than the sun itself._

_"DADDYYYY! MOMMYYY!" A baby cries, hard and desperately._

_Steps are heard, someone is coming! **They** 're coming!_

_... Wait a minute..._

_No, it's... it's not them. Neither of them. It's an unknown dark silhouette, that keeps coming closer._

_Why are they coming closer?_

_They're scary!_

_Stop!_

_STOP, GO AWAY!_

_...!_

_Suddenly two hungry and obsessive amber glows, that barely resemble eyes, appear. The pain gets stronger, the cries louder. And then two voices arrive:_

_"VARIAN!"_

* * *

The moment the voices called out, Varian jolted awake, cold sweat across his face and a concerned Rudiger beside him. His eyes immediately started darting around wildly, taking in the scene around him.

Soft morning light playing through the leaves of the old willow tree (So it wasn't dark.). The large limbs of said tree around him, in a nest-like shape (Not exactly soft and warm, but okay.). A breeze running through the leaves, which were slowly moving around along with it, as if they were dancing together.

Though it was gentle and its touch on Varian's face felt somehow comforting, something about it felt off. Due to the deafening silence, the atmosphere felt already heavy, and that breeze was only making it heavier. It was only a matter of seconds, before it went from comforting to chilly.

Rudiger went to sit on his friend's lap, sensing his uneasiness (which he was feeling too), but then he spotted something that looked like a small piece of paper, stuck on a limb next to him.

Varian noticed that his raccoon had turned his attention to it and he did the same, before taking it in his hand. It seemed that something was written on it, but it was more of letters rather than words. It must've been a torn part of text or something.

"'ake b'?" Varian read, exchanging a confused look with Rudiger.

He turned it on the other side and saw a picture, that kinda looked like... a part of a face, and specifically a bridge of a nose and a closed eye.

Varian's eyes widened. This was a piece of his family painting.

Suddenly, somehow it started moving, as if it was trying to get out of his hand. Varian almost immediately threw it, shocked (to say the least), and to add more to this weirdness, the breeze got stronger and started carrying it away. Without even thinking, the boy jumped off the tree and ran after it, with his raccoon following.

The more they were running, the stronger the breeze was blowing, until it turned into a crosswind, which was almost giving them a boost. At the same time, Varian realized where that... that 'wind' was blowing, but upon reaching it, he barely recognized it.

If the view before them was to be described in one word, that would be 'burnt'. Every single building, whether it was a house or a shop or even a stable or a henhouse, was lying in pieces of burnt wood on the ground, which was now all grey and incredibly soft, like it wasn't ground but ash. The air smelled like smoke, and was so thick that it almost hurt to breathe. In all of this nothingness, though, there was a single house left standing, in which the wind seemed to carry not only the piece that Varian and Rudiger were following, but also many other pieces of paper. It was their house.

Varian felt that he should go there, but he couldn't bring himself to move. Instead he stood there, taking in the despair of the view with eyes wide in shock and horror. He shook his head, letting out a soft breath (that slightly resembled a sob), as the sounds from last night started whispering in his mind.

Glass and wood breaking, explosions, screams, … fast steps, swords clashing, a scream in a tunnel-

Varian blinked and shook his head again with another sob-like breath, bringing himself out of his thoughts.

Rudiger chittered at his friend worriedly, ready to go and climb across his shoulders. But before he could, the boy started walking towards the house with fast step. He followed him, feeling unsure and scared.

When they reached the house, the door was open and the wind was still blowing inside, as if it was being pulled. Varian walked inside first, now in slow step, gripping tightly his satchel. The moment they both stepped inside the wind blew strong again and all of the (remaining) doors were slammed closed. All of them but one, the door to Quirin's bedroom.

Varian didn't know what was going on or how, but he didn't like it. Walking in a fast pace again, he went to the bedroom, Rudiger following him in the same pace. And when he reached it, he stared in bewilderment at the painting before him.

The painting of him as a baby with his parents, the painting he saw with his own two eyes being destroyed by a mad-woman who claimed to be his mother, it was right there in front of him, good as new.

He went closer, to look at it better, and noticed that something seemed to be written on the other side. He turned it around and it appeared that he was right:

* * *

_A stolen trove,_

_a truth untold_

_and countless screams of death._

_The starting line: A distant land,_

_that's made of dark and dread._

_That's where you'll find me, if you want_

_to take back what you've lost._

_And if you don't, the screams of death_

_will be countless plus one more._

* * *

Varian stopped reading and took a step back, feeling the earth beneath his feet vanish, as the realization stole his breath away.

That woman… that mad-woman…! She took his Dad!

A part of him should have been expecting that this (or maybe something worse) would happen, and yet… he hoped it wouldn't. He hoped that his Dad would be okay, that… What did he even hope?! **Why** did he even hope?!

Why?!... Why…

Because that was always happening. Because long as he could remember, his Dad at times would go… at job, but the next day he'd be back…

So that was his job. That was the reason why he would always come back from it injured. The reason why they were moving all the time. And the reason why the fact that Varian was an alchemist had to stay a secret.

But still, it didn't explain who exactly that woman was, what were all those things she was saying about his Dad, what did she want from them, or… why would she say and insist that she's his mother…

Varian turned back to the note:

* * *

_To seal our deal and get the map,_

_that's going to point you to where we are_

_all you must do is grab the sword._

* * *

Varian's eyes fell on his Dad's bed, on which he saw his black sword with its sheath next to it. He didn't exactly know why he first turned there, he just felt like it pulled him, to look at it.

He reached his hand out to grab it, slowly, hesitantly. When suddenly, something was heard from downstairs. Someone was in the house.


	16. Chapter 16

Varian didn't know what to expect to see, but he was prepared for the worst (the last stickbomb was already in his hand). Stepping out of the bedroom and going down the stairs, with Rudiger next to him just as wary, he found the main room empty. But just as he was about to move to the kitchen, a yelp, followed by a thud, was heard from his lab. They ran towards it and just as they made it there, Varian threw the stickbomb at the intruder, who immediately-

" **AAAAAAHHHHHH! THE HORROR!** " Screamed. (Thanks a lot for the interruption...)

After Gothel's horrible cry last night, Varian thought that there was no sound worse than that, but apparently, he thought too soon...

After the initial shock, he turned to look at who his stickbomb had caught.

It was a girl, that seemed to be his age, with messy dark auburn hair tied up in a bun and big, beautiful light brown eyes. Her skin looked completely flawless, as if she was actually made of real porcelain. She was wearing a long, torn baby pink dress with stains of mud and dirt, which had short puffy sleeves. Despite the obvious fact that her attire was a total mess, still it seemed that it once used to be a beautiful gown (key word: used to).

"MY DRESS! **WHAT** THE HECK IS THIS?! **HOW** DOES IT COME OFF?! DOES IT EVEN COME OFF?! GET THIS THING OFF OF ME! NOOOW!" She screamed again from her place on the floor, before she noticed a dumbfounded Varian staring at her. "YOU! You threw this thing on me! **She** sent you, right?! RIGHT?! What?! Is she recruiting new, more **lively** people now?! She wants you to take me to her! So she could kill me with her own hands, right?!"

Varian tried to speak, but the monologue of madness carried on impetuously.

"But nooo! NO, I won't do either of you the favor! I refuse! Do you hear me?! **I! RE-FUSE!** I won't give you the satisfaction of taking my life away! I shall not die like this! I shall die as the glorious princess that I am, by... by... Ummm... Now, how does a glorious princess die?"

Varian was at a loss of words. He just kept staring at her in utter confusion.

"I'm sorry, but... who are you, exactly? And what are you doing here?" He finally asked, after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Ugh, spare me the act! I'm onto you, you wizard!" She hissed, looking annoyed and angry.

"What? Wiza-? I'm not a wizard!" Varian now raised his voice too.

"Oh, you're not? Then what the heck is this disgusting purple stuff, if not some evil restraining spell or potion?!"

"It's- it's a chemical compound I crafted. Nothing magical, nothing evil. Simple alchemy." He explained simply, the relatively neutral look on his face a façade hiding an entirely out of time and place enthusiasm of finally revealing his secret to someone (even though that someone was some random, crazy girl, he found in his trashed lab, yelling nonsene...).

"Simple... what?" Her voice and face seemed to soften a bit at his response, and for a brief moment her eyes sparked with curiosity and piqued interest, scanning him carefully, before she reclaimed her previous demeanor. "Even so, you're still nothing but an unfortunate lowlife, hired to capture me! As I said, I'm onto you! So what did she promise you if you deliver me to her?! Riches?! Power?! Better clothing?!"

"What are you talking about? I don't know who is that woman, that wants to kill you! I don't even know who **you** are!" Varian raised his voice again (the hidden enthusiasm from before flying out the window), exasperated that he let this conversation last this long. As if he didn't have enough troubles hanging over his head already...

He walked up to her, searching his satchel. She responded to this with-

"Wh-what are you doing?! Why-why are you getting this close?! What are you gonna do to me?! STOP! STOOOOP!"A loud, fearful stammer... (Please no more interruptions. Thank you.)

She braced herself as Varian brought a small bottle out of his satchel, but much to her suprise, all that she felt was a weight falling off of her. She opened her eyes and saw that the purple goo keeping her on the floor was gone.

"There. You're free. Now you can go." He said, exasperaton still in his voice.

For a few seconds, the girl just stood there staring at him in surprise. But then she stood up, putting on an indifferent face (which actually looked more like an attempt to hide the embarassment).

"Well... I suppose I was wrong, and... you're really not working for... for that witch that's after me. And for that... you have my apologies." She said in a tone matching her face. "However, as much as I would love to go, I am afraid I cannot, because out in the woods there's a horde of... of guys in black cloaks, that **are** working for her, and if they find me... I'm DEAD!" (And we're back at the yelling).

"Wait, wait, wait! Black cloaks?! And black clothing in general?! With hoods covering their faces?!" Varian suddenly said, thinking that he knew who they could be.

Rudiger seemed a little shaken too.

"How did you know?" The girl asked him, surprised.

"That woman you were talking about... who, you say, wants to kill you... Who is she?" He asked again, this time more urgently.

"She's a witch named Gothel." She answered "You know her?"

"I met her last night." Varian said, voice full of bitterness. "But, wait a minute... How did you call her?"

"A witch, that's what she is. And a literal one. You know, of those who cast spells, brew potions-"

"And fly on their brooms in the night." He interrupted ironically.

"Excuse me?!" She said, annoyed of his interruption.

"Who are you trying to fool? Witches, and magic in general, are not real! They exist only in fairytales!"

"'Only in fairytales!'?!" She huffed a laugh, anger appearing on her face. "So, what?! You think I'm lying?! You think I'm crazy?!"

"Well-"

"How dare you! I am Princess Regina Candida of Pulcherrima, and I will not allow a little lowlife like you to question my words with such insolen-"

The rest of her words died in her mouth, as the sound of horses galloping was heard from outside.

"Oh no..." She breathed, turning pale.

Rudiger quickly climbed across Varian's shoulders, clearly not liking that sound either. Varian could see hoofs of horses from the small windows. And then the human feet of their riders hitting the ground.

"It's them... They found me!" The princess breathed again in shock.


	17. Chapter 17

Regina opened her mouth to scream, but before any sound escaped her throat, Varian had clasped a hand over her mouth. In response she kept letting out muffled whimpers and trying to pull away from him.

"Shhh! Stop! Stop! Now it's not the time to panic!" Varian whispered at her urgently, in an attempt to make her stop, but she just kept whimpering harder, until she pulled away.

"And when is the time? Tell me the time that's good for you to panic, so **I** can panic, so **you** can panic, so even **that furball** on your shoulders can panic!" She whispered back frantically.

Rudiger gave her a chitterring and a glare, offended.

"The passage!" Varian said and they both rushed towards it, but before he entered, he stopped, remembering something.

"What are you doing?!" Regina said, turning back to him.

"I can't go. I... I have to get something." He said, turning around to go upstairs, before Regina grabbed his upper arm and pulled him back.

"Leave it! Since you know them and they know you, you're in danger too! Wherever they go, they always make sure there are no witnesses... alive!" She said as she kept pulling him.

Varian finally managed to get out of her grip, but just as he was about to go up the stairs, with the princess ready to drag him in the passage again, the sound of the front door opening made them both freeze in their place.

"Well?! You still want to stay?!" She said, in a voice that sounded even lower than a whisper, her face bearing a frozen, horrified expression.

Varian lowered his head a bit with a skeptical look.

Upstairs, six people walked into the house, all of them hooded, wearing the same dark outfit and holding black swords. They looked carefully around the main room before splitting up. Two of them went to the kitchen, other two upstairs and other two to the basement.

The last duo was met with a really messed up place. A few desks were spread around, some of them were flipped and some others in pieces. Shards of broken glass and some books were scattered in many places, and both on the walls and on the floor were colored stains.

They walked around, looking for their target (the Broken one, as their master called her), who was hiding behind a flipped desk close to the open passage, along with a young alchemist and a raccoon.

"I swear, if this doesn't work and we die, I'll kill you!" the princess whispered to Varian agitatedly.

"All right." He whispered back before raising his head a bit, to see what Gothel's goons were doing.

Luckily, they were on the other side of the room with their backs turned on them. Now it was the time!

He stood up and went inside the passage tiptoeing, Regina and Rudiger behind him, both trembling, while keeping their eyes fixed on the two men. The trio kept going deeper and deeper, with Varian leading the way with a purple glowing vial at hand, until he spotted something on the ground and stopped.

"Shards of broken glass. There we are." He said quietly, giving Regina a knowing look.

She looked back at him with uncertainty, but she nodded nonetheless and walked a little deeper. A few seconds later, she came back running, and stumbled in her dress.

"Aah!" She yelped loudly as she fell, her voice echoing in the tunnel. "You think they heard me?" She asked, standing up and dusting herself off.

Moments later steps were starting to be heard, heading towards them.

"It looks that way." Varian said matter of factly, as he brought out a handful of small blue orbs.

The steps kept coming closer and closer, in a matter of seconds they'd be there. Rudiger moved closer to Varian, his small frame still trembling.

"Don't worry, buddy. It's gonna work." The young alchemist said, drooping the little raccoon over his shoulders, before handing his vial to the princess and reaching his hand out to her.

She stared at him in shock, looking almost afraid of holding his hand.

 _Calm down, calm down…! He's wearing gloves. His gloves aren't dirty_ … _You won't have to wash yourself._ She thought and held his hand, just as a series of dark silhouettes started appearing.

Varian immediately threw the orbs to the ground with force, creating a massive cloud of smoke. He charged through it, running as fast as he could past the disorganized horde, while holding Regina's hand tightly inside his own. When they made it out, they kept running back towards the lab, but just as they started to see its entrance-

"THEY'RE FOLLOWING US!" Regina screamed, looking back for a moment.

They both sped up, while their pursuers kept coming closer. The first of them had already brought out their swords.

Just as they made it back to the lab, they immediately went to pull the gate to the passage closed again (even Rudiger tried to help).

"Why is this so… heavy?" She grunted.

"Less talking, more pulling!" Varian said through gritted teeth, pulling as well, when suddenly a sword came through the half-open gate, its blade barely missing his throat.

Instinctively, he moved away, while the man from the other side tried to deliver another blow. Before he did anything else, Varian noticed something…

That sword... the sword this man was holding, was the same as his Dad's sword. The exact same dark blade...

"GET OUT, YOU FREAK!" Regina called out, as she hit the man with a big part of a broken desk, bringing the young alchemist out of his trance. "WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT?! GET OVER HERE AND HELP!" She yelled at him and they went back at the pulling.

But just before they shut the gate down, Varian saw, with a horror in his eyes, the man ready to attack them again, but he fortunately hit the wall.

"Phew... That was a close call..." The princess breathed in relief as she and the other two sat down on the floor, glad that it seemed to be over (for now). "Hey, what happened with you before? You just stood there staring at that guy, like you were in another world or something." She turned to Varian, but he didn't respond.

It seemed like he wasn't even listening. His eyes were wide, bearing a distant, clouded look and his face had turned white.

Rudiger wasted no minute and rushed to his side. He started nudging and chittering at him, trying in his own way to ask him what happened and to provide some comfort.

Regina approached him too, looking like she realized what happened.

"Did you... see him... without his hood?" She asked.


	18. Chapter 18

"Did you... see him... without his hood?"

 _Yes..._ Yes, Varian saw the man without his hood.

The man...? Was that even a man? Was that face he just saw, really the face of a human being?! So pale, so emotionless, with eyes and mouth shut tight, looking like they were never to be opened again. That kind of face could only belong to... to a corpse.

"Who- What was that?" Varian managed to ask shakily.

"So, you did see him." Regina said with a sigh. "That was one of Gothel's men. One of her pawns, as she calls them. They're basically people she killed and turned their corpses into her personal puppet-army." She explained.

The young alchemist was silent for a moment, horror and disbelief clashing on his face. What the princess just told him sounded stupid at best and completely insane at worst, but he had practically seen it with his own two eyes, only a few minutes ago (and, not only, he had seen it, but it also tried to kill him). Still though...

"How?" He asked again. "How did she do such a thing?"

Regina rolled her eyes in response. "Seriously? Weren't you listening to me before? She's a WITCH!"

"Here we go again..." He groaned in exasperation.

"What?! You're questioning me again?! Even after **this**?!" She called out, her tone the same as Varian's, pointing at the wall that was hiding the passage. "It's hard, kid, I know, I had a similar reaction. But whether you like it or not, magic is real and, apparently, it's after both of us."

Varian looked away from her, his face red from the nerves.

Magic was real! Heck, was there a more foolish explanation about those... those things than this?! Varian was a man of science, he always was and he would always be. But-...

But since magic (of course) wasn't the answer, then... what was it?

And not only for them:

That cloak Gothel had, which allowed her to blend into the shadows. That dagger that appeared in her hand out of nowhere. His destroyed family painting, which he found this morning perfectly new, and that strange wind that guided him to it... How Gothel's eyes could change just like that from cold grey to malicious, glowing amber and how... how his own eyes and his light blue streak would start glowing as well, as if she was-

"So, what's that **something** you had to get, that's so special, it was worth risking our lives for?" Regina asked, bringing the young alchemist out of his thoughts.

"A-a sword." He replied as he stood up and made his way upstairs, while Rudiger and the princess followed him.

"A... sword? Are you kidding me?! You really put my life in danger for a **sword?!** I don't believe this! This-this is...ugh, I don't even know what to call this..." She kept yelling, but Varian said nothing.

He just tried his best to shut her voice out and bite back his annoyance. It wasn't like this would last for much longer. He'd take the sword and that map, he'd ask her to tell him what she knew about Gothel and then they'd go their seperate ways.

"I mean who does that?! Who puts a damn sword above the life of a princess?! This is unacceptable! If we were at my kingdom, I'd send you to rot in the dungeons! Execution would probably be more fitting, but I refuse to step down to your level! **I** value human lives, and..."

Why did he have a feeling that it would be easier said than done?

Fortunately, when they reached his Dad's bedroom Regina stopped whining, as she noticed the note written on the painting. She started reading it aloud, while Varian's eyes fell immediately on the sword, wide and completely focused.

"To seal our deal and get the map, that's going to point you to where we are, all you must do is grab the sword."

While Regina read the note's final lines, Varian slowly reached his hand out to grab it. As he reached for it, he felt his mind slowly going blank. Every thought, every hesitation was getting muted, while the only clear sound was a tiny voice in his mind repeating again and again:

_"Take it... Take it... Take it..."_

"No! No, no, no! Stop! Don't touch that!" The princess suddenly shouted, pushing him away, just a second before he could.

"What the... What are you doing?!" Varian called out at her, barely catching himself from falling.

"Preventing you from making the biggest mistake of your life! Preventing you from making a deal with that witch!"

"What deal?! There's no contact, not even a handshake, just a note that-"

"That clearly says: 'To seal **our deal** and blah blah blah, **grab the sword** '! Don't you get it?! The moment you touch that sword, you basically do sign a contract! A-"

"Please, do not include the word 'magical' in your next sentence." Varian said, reaching out his hand in a stop gesture.

For a moment Regina narrowed her eyes in thought. "Then, a highly uncommon contract, that only very few... gifted people can costruct? Did that sound better?" She asked with a fake, doll-like smile, irritation shining in her eyes.

"A little." He ansewered, as he went to take the sword, only for her to push him again. "Stop!" He said trying to shove her away.

"No, **you** stop! And this time it's an order!" She said, pushing him back.

"Order? I'm neither your subject nor your servant to order me, **your highness**!" He spat ironically.

"But you're still a peasant! And peasants are obliged to respect and obey any crown!"

"Too bad you don't have one!"

"How dare you?! I'm actually bothering to try and save your filthy skin and you just ignore and disrespect me?! What could really be so important that you're willing to make a deal with a demon to take it back?!"

"My Dad!"

And as soon as the words left Varian's mouth, Regina broke away with a stunned look in her eyes.

"She... she took your father?" She asked, her voice only shy of sympathetic.

The young alchemist answered with a nod and looked away, as the last night's events replayed bitterly in his mind. Rudiger climbed across his shoulders and his friend immediately scratched him behind the ears, as if he was saying 'I'm fine.', but without turning to face him. Regina looked away too, as unpleasant memories of her own started returning, and her gaze fell on the sword. She took a closer look at it and a thought suddenly struck her like lightning.

"That sword... Is it yours?" She asked.

"No, it... it's my Father's." Varian answered, a little surprised by her sudden interest.

"Who is your father?" She asked again as she turned to look at him.


	19. Chapter 19

"So, let me get this straight. Your father was basically fighting Gothel off, while telling you he was going away due to job? Which you knew nothing about?" Regina asked, after Varian told her about his Dad and last night's events.

"Pretty much..." He answered, still barely believing it himself.

The princess crossed her arms, her face bearing a thoughtful look. "Hmmm... And I think the description fits..." She mumbled to herself.

"What was that?"

She turned to look at him again, trying to look serious, but what her face displayed was mostly uncertainty and discomfort. "Look, what happened here... I've seen it again, three years ago. In my kingdom... I-I... I saw Gothel's pawns... capturing my people, and my parents. I saw her killing them-!" She stopped herself there, realizing that she was raising her voice and that Varian was looking at her with... she couldn't determine what.

Question?

Worry?

Empathy?

No, no, no. She knew what: Pity. _And a true princess mustn't take anyone's pity._ Especially that of a little lowlife.

She sighed and cleared her throat before she continued:

"I... I was the only one who got away from them. But they never stopped looking for me. And one night, they found me and... and they..." Again, she stopped.

Only this time, she couldn't bring herself to continue. Darn it, why couldn't she just get on with it?! It had been two years! Why couldn't she just say it (she had even skipped most of it...)?!

"They hurt you?" Varian asked, trying to sound gentle, as if he was worried that he would scare her off.

And indeed, the princess seemed pretty shaken by his question. She remained silent for a few (way too long) seconds, trying to reclaim her composure and ignore the question and the emp-pity in Varian's eyes.

Then, she nodded and went on:

"I don't... I don't remember much. But at some point, they had me cornered. And then, a man stood before me, holding a sword like that." She pointed at Quirin's sword, letting out a soft, barely audible sigh. ( _All right... All right, it's over)._ "He protected me and he carried me away. After that... I woke up in a medic's chamber, and when I asked him what happened he told me that he had found me at his doorstep, unconcious and hurt. He took care of me, but about two months later, they found me again. This time, I managed to get away and then afterwards I set out to find the man who saved me. I thought that perhaps he was in an army, or an order, or something, that was fighting against them. But now, as you told me... he's captrured. And instead, I found you."

She finished with a look of disappointment and annoyance, which Varian chose to ignore, trying to put together the pieces he had.

Gothel wanted something from him and his Dad. And somehow she was able to track them down, wherever they were going, his nightmare acting as a warning that she was close. But they had never been in Regina's kingdom, so...

"Why did she attack your kingdom, in the first place?" He asked her.

Her eyes driefted away for a moment, uncertainty returning to her face, accompanied with both discomfort and worry. However, they were quickly blinked away.

"When she arrived she demanded to see my parents. She said that she wanted to make them a special offer, that would benefit them greatly. Due to... um... several circumstances, my parents were intrigued and let her in." She explained. "She said that she was the ruler of a small dominion and needed more men to fight in her army, against a land called 'The Dark Kingdom', which she was at war with. In exchange for their help, she promised that they would share the spoils of war. Of course, my parents didn't believe her and turned her away. And then... she sent her pawns to attack. Though, I can't say I blame them for not believing her. I mean really, Dark Kingdom? Couldn't she have come up with a better name? Maybe something that wasn't out of old myths and fairytal-"

"Hold on a second!" Varian suddenly said and turned to the sword, before the princess grabbed his arm in an almost reflex motion. "I won't touch it." He said with a sigh, as he pulled away, feeling her gaze fixed on him.

He kneeled next to the bed and,, after letting Rudiger off his shoulders and next to him, he bowed his head to take a close look at the sword. And just as he thought, written in the guard with half-faded letters:

"'For a warrior who shall defend the crown and the people of the Dark Kingdom'." He read aloud, while struggling to keep himself from reaching for it, his face frozen in surprise.

"Okay, wait. So, this Dark Kingdom was real?" The princess asked, just as surprised as him.

"Looks like it." Varian said, as he stood up and looked at Gothel's note. _The starting line: A distant land, that's made of dark and dread. That's where you'll find me-_ "And I think... it lost that war."

That would probably explain why Gothel's... army had swords like this. Spoils of war. The question was: Why did his Dad have it? Was that Dark Kingdom where he was from? Did he fight in that war? It seemed that he did (and of course he didn't tell him anything...). And, if taking into concideration Gothel's words, whatever had happened between them, it must have happened during that war, in that Dark Kingdom...

"I need that map..."Varian mumbled, as he turned his attention again at the sword.


	20. Chapter 20

Gothel blinked abruptly, an amber glint appearing in her eyes and fading in a second. In a similar way, an odd feeling washed over her. As if a burden suddenly fell off her shoulders and then it rushed back, but kind of lighter.

She took a deep breath as she recognised the feeling.

 _He did it..._ She thought with delight, a smile slowly making its way to her face.

All those spells she had to cast to make this work may had worn her out (especially that stupid synchronization spell), but oh... how rewarding it was in the end. Now all she had to do was wait. And soon the boy would be home.

* * *

_Some time before..._

"YOU'RE A SAVAGE!" Regina screamed, and Varian and Rudiger rushed out of the room, while a flying broken chair foot barely missed the alchemist's head.

 **"I'm** the savage?!" He yelled back from the middle of the stairs.

"You tore my dress! Does it look like it can take any more damage to you!? **DOES IT?!** "

"It was an accident! And besides, it's not my fault that you wouldn't get out of the way!"He yelled again, as a trembling Rudiger hid behind him.

"Oh, so it's my fault?!... I mean, I tried to save you and I even told you all that I know and you're still treating me like I'm wrong?!" She continued, walking up to him. "We both don't really know much about this woman, like her backstory or her motivations, but I know her better than you! I've been running from her and her puppet freaks **knowingly** for the last three years! So, trust me when I say that she's a person you don't want to make a deal with!"

"You read that note and I told you what happened! You really think I have any other choice?!" Varian asked her, his voice full of annoyance.

"Okay, okay, point taken! But let's say I step aside and let you get that sword. What are you going to do next? You think you can just waltz right into her lair and take your father back? You may have been able to handle the guys that were after us before, but I highly doubt you can take on the entire undead population of about two kingdoms on your own. Not to mention its puppeteer."

Varian hated to admit it, but maybe the princess was right. He still didn't believe the whole magical contract thing, but he needed the map to the Dark Kingdom. He needed answers and most importantly he needed to save his Dad. However, playing Gothel's game and walking into her stronghold with nothing but a satchel of alchemy and a sword could easily be a suicide mission... Except...

 _Oh, no..._ That was his first response to his own thought, and no matter how much he wanted to think of something else, there just didn't seem to be many available options. _So much for expecting us to part ways soon..._ "In this case..." He sighed. "How about I make a deal with you?"

"Uh... excuse me?" Regina asked, confused.

"Look, Gothel is after both of us, you said so yourself. We have both lost something to her, and we're probably the only people who know about her."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait! Are you really suggesting that we go to the Dark Kingdom and fight?!" She interrupted, clearly not liking that idea.

"No! I mean, not exactly. What I'm saying, is that we go there and fight, yes. But not on our own. You're-"

"And who are we going to go with? Can your little furball here summon an army of forest critters?" She interrutped him again, giving a dissaproving look first at him and then at a pissed off Rudiger.

While he shared his friend's feelings towards her comment (and her), Varian simply clenched his fist and knitted his brows. He didn't want to waste any more time in another fight.

"No. **Rudiger** can't summon an army." He continued, not bothering to change the look on his face. "But, you can."

"Can what? Summon an army of forest critters?" Confusion returned to her face, as she asked her question.

"That, I highly doubt. But how about an army of your kingdom's allies?"

The princess seemed surprised, if not shocked. "What allies?"

"Your kingdom was called Pulcherrima, right? If I recall correctly, it was part of the Seven Kingdoms' alliance."

" **Was**." She spat, crossing her arms and looking away. "I would have thought about that too. But the truth is, Pulcherrima left that alliance. Which was probably the reason why Gothel approached us in the first place."

Varian tried to look unaffected by her words, but the bitterness and the dissapointment had already started to appear on his tense face and were slowly turning into frustration.

Why would they even leave that alliance? Varian may had never been in any of the Seven Kingdoms, but he knew for a fact that they were one of the most powerful alliances in the world. Wherever they were going, it was impossible to not hear at least a slight comment about how majestic and grand and (sometimes) superior those lands were compared to any other place. Or how lovely and prosperous the life there was.

He turned to look at Regina, expecting her to further explain. However, her stiff posture and distant expression made it clear that she wouldn't say anything more, even if he paid her to do so.

"Even so, we still have to try!" He suddenly said, and she turned back at him, unsure if she should roll her eyes and groan or just start yelling at him about how stupid that was. "Even if you did leave the alliance, if we make them understand how much of a threat Gothel is, they'll have to move against her. Isn't there anyone in that alliance that would be willing to at least hear us out?"

Regina turned away again, looking in deep thought. "Hmmm... I think there is. Of all the rulers, my parents were in best terms with king Trevor of Equis. At some point they were even making plans of a betrothal between me and his nephew. I'm not saying that he'll certainly welcome us with open arms, if we show up at his doorstep, but out of all the others, he's our best bet."

The young alchemist seemed satisfied enough with her answer. "So?" He asked, reaching out a hand for a handshake. "I escort you to Equis and you make sure we have an army to help us fight Gothel and reclaim what she took from us. Do we have a deal?"

She glanced at his hand and then at him with a raised eybrow, studying his face carefully.

He had indeed made some good points, and she could see the conviction, the impatience and the detrmination in his eyes. She didn't allow herself to show it, but she knew those feelings, perhaps too well. She felt a stange feeling inside her as she kept looking at him and thinking all that he said, and she didn't like that feeling. How it stung inside her, how it made her want to throw away her facade and... frown.

In the end, she sighed, letting that bitter feeling and her hasitation go. And she shook hands with him.

"Deal." She said, unable to hide a small edge in her voice."Well? Do we go now?" She walked down the stairs past him, but Varian stayed where he was.

"Not yet." He said, as he started ascending again, while Rudiger followed him, confused and uncertain.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" She called out and ran after him "For the love of all things, just LEAVE IT THE-"

"And how are we going to go to the Dark Kingdom?" Now it was Varian's turn to interrupt her. "Not to mention that it could be useful."

"But I told you! If you take it-"

"It will be in our best interest!" He cut her off again, surprising both her and Rudiger. "I mean, if I take it and I indeed make a deal with her, she's going to think that I'm going directly to the Dark Kingdom. And so, we won't have to worry about her getting in our way." He explained.

Though he really wanted to scream into her face again, about how stupid that was, he knew that if he did, he would only start another pointless fight, and the previous progress would be thrown out of the window. So, he just played along and actually it seemed like it worked.

Because the princess, albeit a little hesitantly, gave him a nod and took a step back.

Varian then turned to the sword, which was still in its plac on the bed. With the sense that it was calling him, stronger than ever, he bent down.

And the moment he held it in his hand, a strong jolting sensation coursed from his palm through his entire body. Keeping his gaze fixed on the swords blade, he could have sworn that for a moment he saw it glow dimly, but that thought was immediately set aside, after he realized that he was actually holding it. The weapon felt impossibly light in his hand and watching it there, watching his gloved fingers around the grip felt so... strangely right and natural, that it almost felt like it was just a part of his body, or maybe an extension of his hand. But what was even stranger was a very faint, inexplicable sense of joy he was feeling very deep down. And it was shown as a small smile appeared on his face, as he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Uhh... kid? Care to look at this?" Regina's soft voice brought him out of his trance.

And as soon as he did, Rudiger immediately climbed across his shoulders, looking shocked, like the princess. And after he turned around he understood why.

In the place of his family portrait was now a much smaller, much older-looking folded piece of paper. And the note was still written on it. Although, there was something more written this time:

* * *

_That's nice._ _We'll wait for you_

_My son..._


	21. Chapter 21

Varian clenched his fist as he read the note's addition, part of him wondering how it was written and how the form of what it was written on, had changed. But he quickly set aside his questions and his anger, and knelt down to get it. He unfolded it and what he saw was a map. A very old-looking map. But even so, it seemed to him that he could read it. Hopefully.

After exchanging a look of confusion with Rudiger, who chittered at him curiously, he rolled the map up and put it in his bag, along with a small pouch of money and a newer map (which he could certainly read), that he knew his Dad was keeping in a drawer.

"So? Now can we go?" Regina said suddenly, her words ringing with impatience.

Varian gave her a nod as he began to walk out of the room, after Rudiger got off his shoulders.

"Uhh... you do know that this thing has a sheath going with it, right?" She asked again, pointing at the sword, which was still in the young alchemist's hand.

As soon as the question left her mouth, he came to an abrupt halt, his face turning to look at the sword with a look of surprise and question. As if he had forgotten that he was holding it.

"Oh! Right." He said with a slight hint of hesitation in his voice, while he turned back and got the sheath. "Let's go."

"About time!" Regina said, walking out of the room.

Varian went to follow her with a quiet sigh, adjusting the sword to his belt, when he heard Rudiger chitter at him.

The little raccoon tried not to seem discouraging, but it was clear how uncertain he was.

"It's okay, Rudiger, we can handle this. Trust me, this will all be over soon." He said in an attempt to reassure his friend (and himself).

"Will you get down here already?!" The princess called out from the entrance of the house, before going outside.

"I hope..." He whispered, as he and Rudiger made their way outside.

"Those guys left their horses here. Let's take two of them and let's get out of here." She said, getting on one of the horses, but the animal didn't move an inch. "Come on now, move! Move you stupid... MOVE!" She kept calling, trying to get the horse to start moving, but to no avail.

Varian took a look at the rest horses. All of them were completely stiff and unmoving like statues. And their eyes... they were closed. They were... pawns too. As if this wasn't disturbing enough to see in humans... Watching this made the young alchemist feel sick beyond words, and that didn't go unnoticed.

Rudiger moved closer to him, with a soft trill, attempting to provide his friend with some solace, but it still wasn't enough.

Varian wanted to get out of here. Now!

"Hey. Let it go. None of them will move." He told the princess, struggling to hide his discomfort.

"Why's that?" She asked dismissively, still trying.

"Haven't you noticed that they are... way too unresponsive?"

Hearing this, she stopped and looked closely at the horses. The realization was quick to dawn upon her and she immediately jumped off the animal with a scream and hid behind Varian. However, just as fast, she moved away.

"So she also has dead puppet horses. That's just great." The princess grumbled, trying to dismiss her fear.

"Guess we'll have to go on foot." The young alchemist said, already walking with Rudiger towards the forest.

"What?! But it will take us forever to get to Equis on foot!"

"Then we'd better get going."

"Ugh... fine." She groaned and followed. "But if I get tired, you'll carry me. That's an order."

"What?! I'm not carrying you!"

"I've seen you carrying your furball-!"

"His name is Rudiger! First. Secondly, are you really insinuating that carrying a raccoon is the same as carrying a person?"

"Keep talking, keep talking, it doesn't matter. You'll carry me."

"Fine. But keep in mind, that it won't be my fault if I drop you in a puddle of mud, or in a lake..."

"EW! How dare you?!"

* * *

The trio kept moving into the forest for the rest of the day, with a few breaks (and nearly constant bickerings) along the way. Until sunset arrived and they stopped at a spot close to a river, to spend the night there.

By the time night fell, Varian had built a campfire and Regina, with some help from Rudiger, had gathered some fruit (after a pretty long argument).

Then they all sat by the fire to eat some. Well, almost everyone.

Varian was studying the map to the Dark Kingdom and the other map he took, trying to make a parallelism between them, so he could read the first one more easily. However, the more he was looking at it, all he could think of was that note on the other side. And especially its final words.

Rudiger tried to get his attention and to get him to eat, by chittering at him, nudging him, or even placing apples on his lap. But the young alchemist either ignored his raccoon or dismissed him by mumbling a 'Not now.'.

"Seriously, just eat a bit! Your furball is getting annoying." Regina suddenly spoke, but was ignored by both of them. "Hello?!" Again not much of a response was earned. "All right, that does it!" She growled quietly and threw an apple directly on Varian's head.

"Hey! What was that for?" He asked, raising his head to look at her, his face and tone equally irritated.

"Oh, good. Now I have your attention." She said ironically, getting a few blueberries in her hand. "So listen up, little lowlife, either you eat at least one apple, so that your fur-raccoon, whatever, will stop and that you won't faint from starvation, or I throw at your face all the food we have and anything else I have at my disposal, until you eat! Did I make-"

Before she could continue, Varian groaned, grabbed the apple she threw at him and took a big bite, staring at her with an intense, questioning look. Like he was asking 'You happy now?!'

The princess simply scoffed. "Well, I simply must comment on how refined you are. You didn't even let me finish."

"Haven't you been doing the same to me, nearly all day?!" he countered, turning his attention back at the maps.

"In case you forgot, I'm different. I am a princess. A precious, royal flower that should be treated with nothing less than care and respect."

The young alchemist simply rolled his eyes, trying (with little success) to shut her out and to focus on his task.

* * *

_A stollen trove, a truth untold_

_And countless screams of death_

* * *

The light of the fire was dimly showing the other side of the map. The side with the note. And even though its image wasn't exaclty clear, the words were painfully clear in Varian's mind.

* * *

_...take back what you've lost_

_And if you don't, the screams of death_

_**will** be countless plus one more_

* * *

"Agh!" Varian sudddenly felt a strong pain in his head, and his hands were quick to clutch it.

"Huh? What's with you?" Regina asked, standing up and moving to his side.

Rudiger was already there, pleading his friend with chitterings and nudges to give them at least a hint of what was happening to him. Even though he had an idea, which he dreaded beyond belief.

_That's nice... We'll-... you_

**_My_ _son_ **

The young alchemist fell to his knees, breathing heavily, as the pain slowly disappeared. He looked up to see Rudiger and Regina's concerned faces.

The little raccoon wasted no minute, and came closer to his friend, who pulled him in a hug, attempting to ease both of them.

"What was that all about? Are-" the princess stopped herself, looking surprised and unsure. "Are you okay...?" She finished her question in the end, the surprise on her face lingering for one more second, before concern returned.

"I... I don't know..." Varian managed to say, when a realization hit him. "The maps! Where-"

"It's okay. I got them here." She stopped him, showing the maps beside her.

He breathed in relief, stroking Rudiger's back, before exchanging a look of concern and confusion with him and the princess.

She quickly looked away, but turned back to him with his apple in her hand.

"Just... I think you should just eat this and go to sleep." She said, as she handed him the apple and went back to the place she was before, where she laid to sleep.

Varian first looked at the red fruit and then at Rudiger, who gave him a nod. He took a few reluctant bites and laid to sleep too, deep down feeling unsure if he would be able to sleep.


	22. Chapter 22

Sunset was probably the time of the day that Gothel disliked the most. It was the time she was receiving her pawns' daily reports. All that information to process was exhausting for her, but she knew that it was necessery, given the fact that she had a lot of tasks at hand (even now that she was close to the end) and she somehow needed to get information about them, without babysitting her pawns. And besides, soon it wouldn't even matter. Soon all her torture would be over.

She sighed and rolled her eyes, before closing them, ready for the headache. When she opened them again, they were all white and they were glowing.

* * *

_All right... Let's get this over with._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_Mhmm, so far so good._

_No contact with civilians, no problem in scouting, the best part: no sign of too persistent and too curious pests._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_Last one, finally!..._

_Oh, so they found the Broken one... and it got away again..._

_For the love of- all right, it's fine, as long as it stays away from-_

_..._

_Hold on... Who was with it...?!_

_Details, details! Be more specific, you idiots!_

_..._

_..._

_Black hair... with a blue streak... and light blue eyes?!_

* * *

" **NOOO!** " Gothel screamed as she collapsed on the floor, her eyes reclaiming their grey color. "No. No, no, no, NO! No." She kept repeating while she clutched her head, her face twisted in rage and desperation, making the exhaustion feel non-existent.

Of all the people that little wretch could run into, it just had to be **him**! And those idiots, who were supposed to retrieve it-! She had heaven knows how many of them scouting for all the possible threats against her, and the only team who actually found the Broken one and was following it for about two whole years, just let it slip through their fingers for yet another time!

And now-! Now that it was with the boy, it most certainly told him everything! And he wouldn't ignore it! Not if it offered him a way other than hers! A way that would be better than hers! Pretty soon she'd probably see the infantry battalion of all the Seven Kingdoms at her doorstep!

And the deal she left for him?! The deal he sealed earlier that day?!... Most likely a trick...! Then again, the apple never falls far from the tree.

... She suddenly calmed down a bit, as she remembered that she still had a big advantage.

He **did** break their deal, after all. There really was no reason why she shouldn't do the same.

* * *

Quirin was restless. He had spent all day locked up in that awful room, lying chained on that bed, barely moving because of that damned potion. All, while Varian was out there on his own, most likely already on his way to the Dark Kingdom...

He hated this. He hated this room, he hated this place, he hated how powerless he was to fix this mess! And how he played a part in it.

He failed to do the one job he had.

He broke all the promises he made to his family.

Everything he had done over the past twelve years... it just wasn't enough.

 **He** wasn't enough.

And when ( if ) he'd see his son again... he knew that he would see that fear in his eyes. And he wouldn't be able to do anything, but watch. Either that, or he'd probably already be...

"How are you holding up? Enjoying your stay?" Gothel's voice suddenly echoed in the room, above the sound of the opening door and the steps of her and two of her hooded pawns.

One of them, a tall, slender man, was carrying something with a big cloth warped around it. Whatever he was carrying, it seemed pretty heavy.

The other, who seemed to be a short, probably middle-aged woman, was holding a tray with a dark blue tea set on it.

Quirin didn't respond. He didn't even turn to look at them.

"What? You have complaints about my hospitality? I took care of your wounds. Gave you a comfortable bed. I even let you stay in your old room. Sure, it may be empty, a little dusty and overall have its existence forgotten by almost everyone, but you should really be more grateful. Others are not so lucky." She said in a complaining tone, as she poured some tea in a teacup and took a sip.

"What do you want?" He asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

"A simple exchange. A cup of tea with some old acquaintances, for the answers to a few questions." She replied nonchalantly, pouring tea into a second teacup.

"I have nothing to say to you." He said bluntly, turning his gaze to the night sky outside the window.

He had an idea about what those questions might be, and he had no intention of providing her with any answer. And he didn't want to see those old acquaintances either. Honestly, what was even there to see? The remains of people he once knew and lived with for the majority of his life, following and obeying blindly the woman that took their lives? That was a sight he could do without.

"Oh, is that so?" Gothel smirked and took the tray from the woman-pawn, who almost immediately took the second teacup in her hand and walked up to Quirin's bed. "Well, at least try some tea." The witch asked in a mocking tone, taking another sip of her own tea.

The pawn brought the cannikin to his face, close enough for him to be able to drink. But Quirin refused to turn around, and receive anything else from Gothel, or take even a glimpse of the person beneath the hood. Furthermore, he didn't like the tea's scent... Rose tea... He'd recognize it everywhere.

Gothel rolled her eyes and commanded her pawn to step back, before giving her the tray and taking her place next to him. "Stop being such a baby. Even though it's probably not that good, at least give me credit for trying. Besides, it's not my fault that roses are so hard to find around here. But, if you want something badly enough, you search for it and sooner or later... you find it. We both should know."

He clenched his fist, knowing full well what, or maybe who, she was referring to.

"Just, get out." He said through gritted teeth, having enough of her.

But the witch ignored him and continued:

"Which makes me wonder: Does your son know? Because from the what I see, he gave you up way too easily."

"What...?" Quirin suddenly asked, surprise ( and for a moment, relief) making its way to his face.

"It's actually pretty surprising to me. I mean, it just brings up so many questions. Why would he just leave you here? Doesn't he care? Weren't you close as a family?... With all those secrets, were you ever actually one, to begin with?"

Each question was stinging more than the last, most likely because they were in a way not only Gothel's, but Quirin's too.

Still though, he couldn't let her get under his skin. Secrets or not, they were still a family! They've always been! And they'd always be. And nothing would change his mind about that.

"Hmph... You really have nothing to say." Gothel said, the tone of her voice hard to decipher. "But it's okay. We'll find out soon enough. Now... I want you to look at me."

He didn't.

Gothel reached her hands out, impatience and amber light filling her eyes, while pain and heat filled Quirin's body.

"I said, look at me!" Now she commanded, as she forced him to slowly turn his head around, so he would face her.

If he had any control of his body, he would have tried to turn away again, or at least close his eyes. But he had been there enough times to know that it was pointless. Although, that didn't mean he couldn't do anything.

Gothel locked eyes with him. Just like every other time, anger was quick to replace the pain inside them. After twelve years of fighting, she had gotten tired of it. And she was looking forward to finally see an emotionless, pale face in its place.

A wicked smile appeared on her face, as she began chanting:

_Icandesce and burn_

_Break the bond within_

_Heal your vessel's hurt_

_Collect this life for me..._

Quirin squirmed, as he felt the heat Gothel emitted boiling his very existence from the inside out. But aside from his shaky, shallow breathing, he wasn't really making any sound, while the witch chanted.

 _Second time, continue!_ " _Incandesce and burn...  
Break the bond within...  
Heal your vessel's hurt...  
Collect this life for me...!" _She continued, this time with more intensity, but still no scream, no indication of agony other than more intense writhing.

And furthermore, she could barely feel anything breaking, anything coming in her grasp-!

He was fighting.

He just had to fight again... Make things even harder again!

 _Enough! " **Incandesce and burn! Break the bond within!... Heal your vessel's hurt... Collect this life for me...!** " _She kept repeating the incantation over and over in a roaring voice, but he wouldn't stop, he wouldn't break. And neither would she! Not until-!

Her hand!

"No!" She suddenly screamed and stepped back, stopping the spell.

She stumbled and fell on her side, feeling her legs too weak to support her body. Immediately, almost on instinct, she put on her hood and checked her hand.

Pale white, full of wrinkles and even smaller in a way. It felt like her skin was a glove that could barely fit her. And this feeling quickly spread through the rest of her body (good thing she had the hood on...).

But there was something else. A part of her had faltered. The strongest part of her. She couldn't believe it...

She was damaged. She insisted way too much and that damaged her.

She raised her head to look at Quirin.

He was covered in sweat, his chest slightly rising and falling as he was breathing with difficulty.

So... she lost a big part of her power, she got damaged... and he was still alive...!

Gothel abruptly tried to get up, only for her to give out a second later. She hated this so much!

"Get over here! NOW!" She shrieked, and her pawns without hesitation dropped what they were holding, helped her stand and walked her out of the room, leaving Quirin alone again.

 _All right... It's all right... it's over..._ He kept saying to himself, trying to steady his breathing and gather his thoughts.

Okay... to begin with, he was alive. Since he was breathing, hot and full of sweat, he was alive... Secondly, Varian wasn't coming. That was a good thing, but it still left problems.

Since he wasn't coming, what was he doing? Where was he? Was he even okay? And Gothel- She would go after him and he... He wouldn't be able to protect his son from her anymore. If anything, he might even help her...!

Gothel would try to... 'collect' him again, that was guaranteed. He even had a confirmation of that right in front of him, in the form of the object the first pawn was carrying, which was now lying on the floor, no longer covered by the cloth. His old armor (He was surprised they actually kept it. Maybe **she** kept it... she did say she would remember him.).

Years ago he had sworn to never wear it again, and now... now he had almost broke that oath in the worst possible way, for the worst possible reason. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew that eventually he would indeed break it...

But before that, he would fight. Just as he did today, for as long as possible he would delay that fate. All, in hopes that Varian would be safe by the time he'd be a pawn. At this moment that was all he could do, but it was better than nothing. And besides, it would be nothing unusual for him. Just a part of the job.


	23. Chapter 23

There was darkness. And there was a lot of it. Varian was standing there, looking around for even the tiniest speck of light or any other clue about where he was. However, there was nothing to be seen but black.

And that wasn't the strangest thing with... whatever that place was. The ground Varian was stepping on was incredibly soft. So much that it was almost like it wasn't even there and he was walking on air. Aside from it, there was a strange feeling in the air. A warm feeling of balance and companionship, like the voice of a friend whispering 'It's okay...'. And it all felt so familiar...

The question was: How?

How could Varian know this place?

True, he had been to many places over the course of his life, but that dark space of emptiness certainly wasn't one of them.

And how did he even get there now?

He probably wouldn't get an answer if he was just standing there. So, he dared to take a step forward, but as soon as he did-

Something happened...

The ground suddenly started to shake and a strong wave of cold filled everything.

Varian lost his balance and fell to his knees, a breaking sound echoing the moment he fell, and behind it a quiet scream. He tried to stand up, but he could barely move. Not entirely because of the quake, or the cold. There was something else too.

His head... his entire body... Why did everything start to hu-

* * *

Varian suddenly opened his eyes with a soft gasp for air, adrenaline spreading through his face and his entire body. He wanted to stand up, or at least sit up, but he was so tense he couldn't bring himself to move. He felt as if he had just fallen from somewhere.

...And he did.

That dark place, that strange warmth that was suddenly replaced by cold, the breaking sound...!

Only a few seconds after it was heard, the ground had shattered and he fell into the void... or probably reality.

So, he had another odd nightmare... for the fourth time in a row. Great. As if being attacked by a madwoman, losing his Dad, being stuck with one of the most infuriating people he had ever met and having to deal with all those things that had happened to him, like his glowing hair and eyes and that sudden headache (plus the questions that came with them), wasn't enough.

Wow, that sounded like a lot to take in. And that was the short edition... But he digressed.

Just like that sudden headache, his dream left him with an ominous feeling. A feeling that something bad had happened.

And if the recent events taught him anything, it was that feelings like that couldn't just be ignored. The last time something similar happened, Gothel found them only a couple of hours later. So, this time... what could it mean?

Was she coming after him again?

Was she near?!

No, that can't be. He took the sword, so- Ugh! What was he thinking?! There was no contract!...

But then again, the painting did turn into a map and there was another note added, when he got the sword.

The sword... another source of questions.

Varian looked up at the weapon, which he had left nearby, next to his satchel.

He sat up carefully, so he wouldn't wake Rudiger up, and took it in his hands. He brought it out of its sheath and looked at the reflection of his troubled eyes on the blade. And this time, he certainly saw it glow, dimly and briefly but still. And it wasn't only the blade that glowed, but his eyes did too. And at the same time, that same odd sensation coursed through his body, accompanied by a sense of comfort.

For a moment, Varian felt lost. Lost inside his own eyes, reflected on that blade, inside those sensations of completion and solace.

But a small part of him, a part he could never ignore, was questioning:

_What's all this? Why does this make me feel like that?_

The young alchemist tightened his grip on the sword, his heart tightening in tandem.

Having those and a lot more questions, but not a single clear answer was so frustrating, and it felt even more so when his eyes fell on what was written on the sword's guard.

Varian stood up with a quiet groan and went to the river. He just stood there, a little unsure of what to do.

Sit by the riverside?

Drink water?

Throw some water on his face?

Throw the sword?!

He stopped. For a moment he stopped thinking, moving, breathing, his brain focusing solely on what he just did.

He clenched both his fists.

He raised his hand, gathering all his power. To make sure what he was holding would go as far and deep as possible. But...

But it was still there. He didn't throw it. He swung it.

He did it again. And again, and again and he kept going on, as if he was fighting an invisible opponent.

And that made... it made him feel strong. And his every step, every breath and every swing was so spontaneous and calculated at the same time. It almost reminded him of-

* * *

" _Ha! I got you now!"_

_"Are you sure about that?"_

_"Ow! That's it! I've had it with you, you little-... giant shrimp! It's time to unleash the beast! AAAAHHHH!"_

_"Oh, that is one angry beast..."_

_"AAHHH! TAKE THAT! AND THAT! AND THAT! AND-"_

_"OKAY! Okay you win, I surrender! Put the beast back!"_

_"Ha ha! I win again!"_

* * *

_Splash!_

Varian stumbled and fell with his back in the water. He had gotten so carried away that he found himself in the river, which was thankfully shallow. He went to stand up, but then he realized that he had dropped the sword.

He immediately dipped his hands in the water, searching frantically for the weapon, and the moment he felt its grip, oh was it a relief...

But then, he stopped to actually take a look at the trembling reflection on the water, at the spot that he found it. And as the waters stopped rippling it was clear. The reflection of the moon.

The young alchemist raised his head to look at it on the sky and two sounds echoed quietly in his ears.

A tiny voice saying: 'It's okay..", and the laughter of two different people.

Varian released a breath he didn't realize he was holding and raised the sword to the sky, his gaze still fixed at the moon, bearing a look of determination and sincerity.

"Dad... I will set this right.I promise you." He swallowed a lump on his throat, as the last sentence left his mouth, part of him hoping that he would be able to keep his promise.

He then went back to sleep. And as he was lying down, after staring at the fading campfire for a few good seconds, he turned to look at the moon one last time, before closing his eyes and whispering:

"I love you..."


	24. Chapter 24

_Running... running through marble halls, without looking back. Without trying (without wanting) to make sense of those awful things they said before._

_Drowning... huffing and puffing isn't enough. The air barely touches the lungs, before escaping the body. It isn't enough..._ _Must... stop... Must... breathe...-_

_Those soldiers...! They're closing in!_

_Keep running! Keep running! It doesn't matter if it's exhausting, it doesn't matter if it hurts!_

_Just... keep...-_

"-ey. Wake up."

* * *

"Wake up."

Varian's face was the first thing Regina saw upon openi-

"AAAH! LOWLIFE!" She shrieked and jumped up, startling both him and the raccoon next to him.

"Good morning to you too..." The young alchemist said with a deadpan look.

"Wha- um... What? Morning?" She stammered, shaken up both from her dream and her sudden awakening, as she looked around. And the surroundings confirmed what he said. It was indeed morning. A pretty cloudy morning.

"Are you okay?" He asked, noticing her minor freak-out.

The question brought her thoughts to a halt and for a moment her face froze in worry (if not fear). A fact that she was fully aware of, and was making her even more nervous.

She couldn't tell him about her dream! She had already said enough, and the less she talked about that night the better! She needed an answer and she needed it quickly.

"Well, u-um... I don't know! You tell me! You were the one hanging above my head like the reaper! And you ask me if I'm okay!..." She said quickly, her face flushing. _Well, that was a really great answer..._

Varian looked at her in confusion, unsure of what to make of this, but he didn't seem really convinced.

The princess cleared her throat and carried on before he could say anything:

"H-how about you? Everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah yeah. Just fine... I... I'm fine." He answered just as quickly as she did before. However, he didn't seem as nervous as her (she should have been taking notes...).

Despite that, Regina knew that he was lying. If there was one thing she knew, it was recognizing lies like that. Furthermore, she knew that he had woken up in the middle of the night, she saw that he wasn't in his place, she heard him splashing in the river (probably throwing pebbles or something, she didn't pay much attention to that.). She herself had barely slept that night, and she didn't even know why... Maybe he hadn't slept much either. She honestly wouldn't blame him. After his father left her in the care of that medic, she was sleepless for almost two weeks, the memories of those nightmarish nights not leaving her alone. Not that they had left her now apparently, judging by the way she froze yesterday, when she was telling the young alchemist what she knew.

He didn't say anything else and neither did she, both agreeing silently to stop this conversation, an awkward silence hanging in the air. But it was quickly broken, by a curious chittering.

They both turned to see Rudiger standing on his hind legs and pointing forward with a curious, questioning look on his face.

"You're right, Rudiger. Time to keep moving." Varian said, as he and his friend started moving, but-

"Wait! What do you mean by that?! Are we just gonna go right now?! Without eating breakfast?!" Regina suddenly called out, a liitle more annoyed than she should.

"We've already had breakfast. I tri-"

"You WHAT? And you let me sleep on to eat it all yourselves, you greedy little pi-"

"I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't wake up! So I let you sleep on"

"I don't care! We're not taking another step, until I eat my -"

Before she could finish, Varian threw an apple at her, which she barely caught.

"There. Now you can eat as we go. Happy?" He asked, not bothering to hide the edge on his voice.

The princess eyed the apple carefully, before looking back at him with a bitter look.

"I'd normally just sit down and eat it, but I'm feeling generous this morning. So, shall we?" She took a bite as she finished, and started walking before the other two.

Varian followed and caught up to her, letting out a quiet, exasperated sigh, with Rudiger next to him.

Well, it seemed that they were officially back to where they left off. Back with the bickering and the insult throwing every other minute or so, over the littlest of things. And that was fine... Probably... At least for one of them.

Complaining and whining about everything or arguing, was definitely helping Regina to stay distracted from bigger issues. There's only so much one can do when they're alone with no one but their thoughts...

Varian, on the other hand, would be perfectly fine if they were going on in silence. He normally would try to start a conversation with the first chance he'd get, but the princess... wasn't exactly an ideal interlocutor.

"So? Are we surely going the right way, or will you get us lost?" the princess questioned, without looking at him, her face bearing a snooty look.

"We are on the right way." He brought the map out of his satchel, keeping his tone steady. "If we keep going this way, we should be at the forest edge by-"

_Rumble!_

"Aaah!" She yelped and grabbed Varian's upper arm, looking almost horrified. "W-what was that?"

"It-it was just a thunder." He said, pulling away slowly (slightly blushing). "It appears it's about to rain."

"Rain?! We're not getting anywhere in the rain! It-it could turn into a storm! A hurricane! A monsoon! We must find someplace to take cover and fast! WHAT?!" She called out frantically, turning to face a wide eyed alchemist, with a wide eyed raccoon across his shouldes.

"Nothing! Just calm down!" He said, surprised by her sudden outburst. "Uh, I... I think there's a cave we can use as shelter. But it's close to the forest edge, so we'd better hurry."

"We don't have time for that! It could start raining any minute! We need something closer!"

"That's the closest we have! And if you hadn't made it such a big deal, now we would have been closer! So, stop whining already and let's go!" As he was speaking, he kept raising his voice, and when he finished he turned around and kept going with a fast step, (almost) certain that the princess would follow him.

However, when Rudiger looked back, he saw her going the opposite direction. He jumped off his friend and ran after her, giving him a worried look before he did, and Varian followed him.


	25. Chapter 25

Second by second, the skies were growing darker, and the clashes of the clouds were more frequent and stronger. It wouldn't be long before the rain started to fall.

Although, in a place like that, it wouldn't really make much of a difference. In fact, the last time there was something different must have been five years ago. When a man got lost and was rescued by some hunters two days later, despite how difficult she tried to make it for them. They just had to be smart... Humans really weren't as they used to be. Actually, **she** wasn't as she used to be. And unfortunately, she'd never be... Not unless someone came along and-

_"- AAH!"_

...Well hello, someone...

* * *

Varian and Rudiger kept running after the princess, trying not to lose her from their sight, which turned out to be a not so easy task. She was constantly turning from one direction to the other and she was speeding up almost every second (For a girl in a gown she was running pretty fast).

"Hey! Stop! You can't run off like that!" He called out at her.

"Unless you make some proper suggestion, of course I can!" Regina yelled, looking back at him, and sped up again. "You're obviously utterly incompetent of being reasonable, so **I** must take initiative! And I order you- AAH!" she and her words suddenly stopped with a scream, for she had reached the edge of a cliff.

She extended and shook her arms in an attempt to keep herself from falling. However, she was able to do so, only long enough for her to look back and give Varian a terrified glance.

The body of the young alchemist kept running toward the cliff, but he himself felt frozen and still. She may have been (way too) far from being a person he liked, but he just couldn't believe that she was-

"HELP ME!"

Well, apparently she wasn't.

When Varian and Rudiger reached the edge of the cliff, they found the princess in the middle of the cliff, holding on a large branch of a tree for dear life, with a large cloud of fog reaching up her waist.

Fog...? Below a cliff-

"Hello?! I'm still here, holding on for my life, dangling from a damn branch! HELP ME ALREADY!" She shrieked, and (in perfect timing) she heard the branch slowly cracking. "HURRY!"

"Okay, okay! Just stay calm and hang on!" Varian said and went to open his satchel, trying his best to keep the (relatively) calm façade and not freak out.

* * *

_Thud... Thud... Thud..._

* * *

But suddenly, without any quake, without any warning, the ground gave out, he and his raccoon fell with it off the cliff and found themselves holding on to the tree with the princess, as a loud splashing sound filled the air.

However, some of the falling rocks had shook the tree, and that, combined with the impact of Varian and Rudiger's fall, left it half-uprooted.

None of them dared to move or even speak, as they all exchanged looks of horror and desperation.

Regina immediately after, lowered her head with her eyes wide, feeling the air slipping away from her lungs. It was almost like her body was preparing her for the inevitable, which only terrified her more.

Rudiger kept clinging to the tree, so hard that he felt like his tiny claws would get stuck in it. Before even thinking to look down, at the void that was waiting for them, he turned to look at his friend, and behind his fear, his gaze was hiding hope and a plea.

And Varian was looking around, frantically searching and scanning for something that would help, for some way out of this situation, while the sound of the cracking wood kept echoing like a ticking clock.

There were no nearby trees to jump at, which would actually be pretty risky, anyhow, same with trying to climb up, especially for the princess with that gown, and going down...-

_k..._

No! Not going down! That was exactly what they all didn't want and if he was right about where that fall would lead-

... Fog below a cliff, the splashing sound after the falling rocks... Okay, he **was** right, and they were above water. So, one choice would be to just let go and dive, but then again there was no telling if the water would be shallow or deep. They would end up either as wet pancakes, or into a lake, safe, sound and wet. Oh, they were really stuck...

Stuck... Hold on...

Varian's eyes fell on his satchel. Maybe there was something he could do. He just hoped that he had taken what he needed. He immediately started searching, bringing out vials and beakers that were either empty or weren't containing it.

_Crack..._

"Come on come on come on...!" Varian muttered to himself as he kept looking, the tree now only barely staying in place.

"DO SOMETHING!" The princess suddenly screamed, still keeping her head low, the tone of her voice showing that she was about to cry (if she wasn't crying already).

"I'm trying!" He said, still searching, and brought out the last vial he had.

One that was containing a small quantity of a bright orange liquid. That was it, but he wasn't sure if it was enough to produce the desira-

_Crack._

Too late to think.

The tree broke and they all fell into the fog, screaming. Varian wasted no other second, opened the vial and let the liquid fall into the water and in about five seconds-

" **...AAAAAHHH! WHAT IS THIS?! WHY IS IT SO STICKY?!** " Regina screamed to the top of her lungs.

After some effort, the young alchemist managed to sat up into the mass, sticky, orange goo he had landed on and saw next to him his raccoon and the princess, both unharmed, but understandably shaken up.

* * *

So they made it. Both of them. That was good. There was usually just one person that would end up down there, but now... Now there was two!

This was it. The big chance. She couldn't miss them too. One way or another she would finally leave this place today.

* * *

After a few minutes (and a lot of effort and complaints), the trio got out of the orange goo, and they took a look at their surroundings.

But there was barely anything to be seen. Other than a vast, endless cloud of fog, all that they could see was the silhouettes of some tall trees here and there, that were giving them the feeling that they were peeking out at them.

With his entire frame trembling, Rudiger hid behind Varian, who gently picked him up and placed him across his shoulders.

"Okay... **Where** are we?" Regina asked in a fearful tone and turned close to Varian, without trning to look at him though, as another thunder was heard.

Varian let out a sigh before he answered. "We're in 'The Ghosts' Pit'."


	26. Chapter 26

For years (perhaps since the dawn of time) the fog in the Ghosts' Pit remained unbreakable. No matter what, it would never disappear, not even in the hottest summer days. Primarily, that was the reason why the Pit was given that name. People believed it to be a gathering place of ghosts, some claiming it to be a refuge for them, and others a prison. And the more ghosts that were gathering there, the deeper and bigger the fog was becoming.

Varian had heard about those stupid myths and knew better than believing them of course, but now that he was inside the Pit himself, he could understand where they were coming from. And even though, there were a lot of things that made this place creepy, the worst of it was probably the fact that they had already been walking for a good number of minutes, but it seemed that since they fell, they hadn't taken not even one step. There was always the same sight before them: Fog and a few trees sticking out, with the addition of some small lakes every now and then. And even the light they had to lead the way was barely doing its job.

After their fall, Varian picked up a stick of the broken tree, brought out three vials, which he shook in order to make them glow, and tied them at the stick's edge. He wasn't expecting them to light the place like fireworks, but he was expecting to be given an understanding of where they were going exactly. And on top of all that, the echoing thunders were constantly reminding the trio that they had to find some shelter quickly.

Surprisingly, the only saving grace in this situation seemed to be the fact that since they started walking, the princess hadn't said a word. Instead, she just kept moving behind Varian, while keeping her head to the ground and her arms around her stomach, as if she was hugging herself. And whenever a thunder was heard, she would move a little closer to him.

The young alchemist couldn't say that he was complaining. The last thing he needed right now, was her talking his ears off about everything wrong with this place or about how she was in danger of getting we-

...

"Did you say something?" He asked the princess and stopped walking, turning to her.

"Huh?... What? No, I thought it was you." She replied, as if she just returned to reality, still looking down.

Varian looked at Rudiger on his shoulder, thinking that he had chiterred in his ear. But the little critter shook his head, his paws gripping a little tighter his friend's shoulders.

Immediately after, Regina grabbed onto his upper arm, hiding her face in his shoulder.

"W-well... you-you did say that they call it 'The Ghosts' Pit...! Gee, I wonder why..." She said shakily, and lifted her eyes a bit to take a look behind them, while Varian and his raccoon were looking around too.

If he wasn't so on edge, he would facepalm. "Please tell me you don't think that was a-"

...

There was that sound again... Only this time a little clearer.

_...-ver... h-he-..._

Rudiger jerked up abruptly and jumped off Varian, looking straight ahead and slightly growling with his tail fluffed up.

"What is it, buddy? Did you see something?" his friend asked and Rudiger turned to him with a surprised expression, pointing forward.

The moment the young alchemist looked where he was pointing, the first raindrops started to fall and the fog before him had dissolved a little, revealing a giant old tree with gnarly branches and a large hole in its roots. Before he could say anything, Regina sprinted past him and into the hole.

"Huh... There's a lot of space here. It's like a little cave." She said, taking a look around. "Come on! What are you waiting for?" She asked the other two.

"I don't think this is a good idea." Varian said, without moving from his place, while Rudiger nodded in agreement.

"Seriously?! We just found a place to wait out the rain, and avoid... anything strange that might occur, and you say you're not sure?! Why? 'Cause your raccoon was growling at it?" She called out, almost mockingly.

"Probably because this place is a tree? And it's dangerous to be under a tree when it's raining?" He countered.

"But we won't be under the tree. We'll be inside it."

"And how is that any different?"

"Ugh! Okay, lowlife, listen up! We made a deal. And in that deal, you promised to escort me safely to Equis. And since I'm **not** taking a step out of here until it stops raining, you shouldn't either! But hey, if you really want out of it and you wish to keep walking in the darkness, the cold and the rain... you be my guest." She sneered, walking deeper in the hole.

Varian clenched his fist as she was speaking, with anger filling his eyes. How dared she go there?! For the last two days she had really been nothing but a royal pain in the -... neck, but threatening to cancel their deal?! That was low to say the least!

Varian wanted... He wanted to yell at her, he wanted to even slap her...! But... unfortunately his hands were tied. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he needed her, if he wanted to see his Dad again...

"Well? Are you coming or not?" She called out.

Varian closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again, he took a deep breath and, biting back his anger, went inside with a wary (and equally angry) Rudiger beside him.

When they got there, they found the princess sitting on the floor in the opposite side of them with her back turned on them.

"There we go. That's a good boy." She said, without turning to look at him. "And you know? You really should thank me. Because this time, I didn't order you. I actually gave you a choice. And..."

Varian narrowed his eyebrows , but a mischievous glint appeared quickly in his eyes.

As she kept rambling on, he turned around, got an empty beaker out of his satchel and brought it out to fill it with rainwater.

From behind him, Rudiger was covering his mouth with his front paws, trying to keep himself from bursting into laughter.

When it was full, Varian moved quietly towards the princess and when he got to her-

"It's about time you learned your place. I mean, I know that we're practically co-travellers, or something, but, as I told you before, I'm different. I am a princess. A precious, royal flower that should be treated with nothing less than care and respe- **AAAAAAAAHHHH!"** He poured all the water on her.

"Oh no, I'm so clumsy. I just wanted to give you some water... **Your higness...!"** He spat and went with his raccoon to sit to the left side of the hollow tree, leaving her soaked and stunned.

* * *

Well, well... Those two were really something else.

Making a choice would be rather difficult, but she had to admit that she was mostly leaning towards the boy. There was something almost familiar about him and he had that blue streak in his hair... If her hunch was correct, she'd choose him with no hesitation, no doubt.

The only problem was the animal... The children wouldn't be able to see her before midnight, but it would. And it saw her before.

But on the bright side, it was still barely noon. So, she had more than enough time to make her choice and come up with a plan.


	27. Chapter 27

Outside, the rain continued to fall heavily, its sound breaking the Pit's cold silence. And it appeared that it wouldn't stop any time soon. What a perfect day that would be... As long as both candidates remained in good shape, which unfortunately wasn't exactly the case.

She expected the girl to throw a fit at the boy for what he did to her, given her previous snap. But now, like when they fell, she was resigned and silent, fiddling with something (she couldn't tell what, she was pretty far). She had simply taken off her tattered, dirty gown and remained in a white sleeveles underdress that reached a little below her knees. Good thing she knew not to keep the wet clothes on her, but in a weather like that, wearing nothing but an underdress and with her hair being still wet, she could catch a cold at best and a pneumonia at worst.

Well, maybe the boy would do something about it... Or not. He was sitting away from the girl, not bothering to even give her a glance. He was obviously fuming over their situation, she could tell from his posture. And he seemed to be busy with something. From what she could she, it seemed that he had taken some beakers out of his satchel, which were containing some strange, colored liquids, along with several other metalic instruments.

How delightful. It seemed that her hunch was correct after all. What she had right there was a budding young wizard, who at this moment was about to start crafting his potions. If only she could go closer and see what he was doing, but that raccoon was standing guard next to him like a cerberus.

If she tried to get close to the boy, do something to shield the girl from the cold, or even move an inch away from her hiding spot, it would see her, and if it did...

She couldn't risk it. After all this time, she was closer than ever to finally leaving this prison. She had to be careful and patient, now more than ever.

Stay put... hope for the best... and wait for the right moment.

* * *

Varian looked around with a questioning look on his face, feeling that someone was watching him, and it certainly wasn't the princess. She was disdaining to look at him (like he cared).

He chose to dismiss that feeling, thinking that it probably wasn't that important (Besides everyone was having feelings like that from time to time), but not before he gave an almost worried glance at the sword adjusted to his belt. For a moment he thought to reach for it, unsure of why.

Out of some lingering concern?

Instict?

Or the desire for that odd solace?

Rudiger chittered at him, giving him a questioning look of his own, and Varian quickly turned back to keep working with his alchemy, after managing a weak smile. There wasn't any reason for him to worry his friend over some stupid feeling. And even if it was something, even if it actually was a reason to worry... he had to get prepared.

The little critter then moved a little closer to him, as his guarded expression returned and he looked around too. He really didn't like this place. If it was up to him, they would have kept walking and they'd probably be out of this filthy ditch by now. Perhaps they all would have been soaked and tired, but it'd be better than being stuck down there, with whoever or whatever was that thing he saw before. And the fact that only he saw it, was not comforting at all.

Part of him wanted to believe that it was nothing, that he just thought he saw something because of the fog. But he couldn't let his guard down, most of all for Varian's sake.

What if he actually did see something? What if it was one of that witch's doing? Or worse, what if it was her?!...

No... He couldn't let her hurt his friend. Neither her, nor anyone else.

* * *

Time kept going by, and Varian kept working. But at some points, he would pause his work and take a look around, because that feeling was coming back, and minute by minute stronger, to the point that the young alchemist started to really get nervous.

Rudiger noticed it and gave him a light nudge. When he turned to look at him, the raccoon motioned with his head towards the princess, who was still with her back turned on them.

Varian raised an eyebrow in surprise and pointed at her, still staring at his friend, who answered with a nod.

Was she really watching at him? And if yes, why? Did she want to complain over something again?(most likely)

He gazed carefully at her for a moment, uncertainty remaining in his eyes.

She was sitting curled up with her head a little lowered, slightly trembling. Her hair was tied up in a high bun, still looking a little wet, and her gown was left next to her.

It was strange. He almost felt sorry for her.

"Hey." He called at her, but she gave him no response, she just raised her head a bit, the only indication that she actually heard him.

After a few seconds, he decided to just turn back to his alchemy. However, he couldn't do more than he already did. He had crafted three stickbombs, one of them being a combination of the original formula and the compound that saved their lives earlier, and a few smokeballs. For the moment, it seemed that those would be needed the most. And besides, with the ingredients he had that was all he could manage.

He started putting back his creations and his equipment, when he turned back abruptly and saw the princess staring at him.

As soon as their eyes met, her face flushed and froze in shock, guilt flickering in her eyes.

"Well... you want something?" The young alchemist asked, before she could even think of turning her back on him again.

"I-if I want something?" She asked back, as her shock and awkwardness were slowly turning to anger. "Well now that you mentioned it, yes, I do. A LOT of things! I want to get out of this place, I want to get to Equis at some point in the near future, I want to be respected and most of all, I want someone to apologize for everything he's put me through! Especially for giving me a much unwanted bath, leaving me soaked like this for about two hours and- the icing on the cake- for getting us stuck down here!"

"I'm sorry, WHAT?!" Varian called out, standing up, frustration and rage exploding in his face. " **I** got us stuck down here?! Because I don't remember me being the one who ran off because he didn't like the **only** option we had!"

"Don't turn this thing around, you lowlife! I-"

" **You** did exactly what I said you did! **You** are the one who turns it around, not me!" He interrupted, pointing at her.

" **I** wouldn't have ran off if you had just listened to me!" She carried on, standing up too.

"If I had listened to you, right now we'd be-"

"Anywhere but here!"

"Wasting our time, walking aimlessly in the rain!"

"You don't know that!"

"I've been visiting this forest regularly for about two years, so, no, I think I do know that!"

"Oh, like how you **thought** there was a cave at the edge of the forest, that we could use as shelter? Because that's what I remember you said."

* * *

Good grief, those children... She had been down ther for so long, she had forgotten how annoying they children can be.

She may have planned to wait until afternoon, but she thought to make a change in the plan. Besides, they wouldn't be out any time soon.

* * *

As the two kept fighting, Rudiger covered his ears, regretting the fact that he... told Varian she had been watching him. When suddenly he noticed something moving above them.

He started chittering at them intensely, but even the thunders outside were quieter than their voices. He didn't insist much and went to bite Varian's pant legs, while the... the thing moved quickly down and under the ground.

"What you actually needed was- Wha-what?" He stopped, and turned to his raccoon, surprised, just as a loud lightning struck and the ground started to shake.

After a few seconds, when the initial shock was overcome, they noticed a hole at the tree's center. And inside that hole, was a staircase heading down.


	28. Chapter 28

For a moment the trio stood there, staring in surprise and confusion at the just-appeared staircase.

"Okay... How did this happen? Staircases don't just appear out of nowhere." The princess said after a rather uncomfortable silence, fear hanging from her words.

"I-I'll check it out." Varian said, as he grabbed his staff and satchel, and putting on a brave face, he went to walk towards it.

Although, he was quickly stopped by Rudiger, who took hold of his apron and started pulling it to the opposite direction.

"H-hey, hey! Rudiger, cut it out!" Varian said, as he pulled his apron out of his friend's grasp.

But before he was able to take another step, the little raccoon had come before him, his face tense with reproach and worry.

The young alchemist kneeled down next to him, his uncertainty surfacing in his eyes, before he quickly concealed it again. "Buddy, it's all right. I-I'll just take a look and be right back, okay? And besides... I think I can handle myself." They both turned first to the satchel and then to the sword before looking at each other again.

A few seconds later, Rudiger went beside Varian, the reproach on his face turned to caution, while the concern remained.

"Yeah, that's nice. Can we check that damned staircase now?!" The princess spat with a displeased look, hands on her hips.

Varian didn't pay much attention to her (which made her fume more.) and went with Rudiger in front of the staircase.

And looking down, they both saw nothing but darkness. However, they suddenly felt something soft caressing their faces. A gentle, kind of comforting, breeze, that was almost inviting them to follow it. And blended with it, sounding only a little louder than a whisper, three desperate words:

"H-help me... Please...!"

Varian stepped back abruptly, shocked and a little dizzy, and bumped into the princess, who quickly moved away, after exchanging with him a (flushed) nervous glance.

The young alchemist had seen something like this again, only yesterday. When he woke up to the tender touch of a breeze that later led him to the ruins of his village... to Gothel's 'deal'. This time, however, instead of pieces of paper, instead of fragments, there were actual words and a voice that spoke them. Could that mean that this time there was someone actually there? Someone like Gothel?

"What is it? What happened with you?" Regina asked him.

Although, he didin't really pay attention to her again.

Rudiger had stepped closer, looking deeper into the staircase, in hopes of finally actually seeing whatever was the thing down there, and found himself staring into a pair of pure white, slightly glowing eyes in the distance. And to make matters worse, they were coming closer, shining with a sinister and almost mocking glint, while at the same time a soft light blue flash was forming around them, like a silhouette.

Oh no... not this again!

"Rudiger? Rudiger, what's wrong?" Varian moved close to his friend, his hand reaching for the sword.

However, it looked like Rudiger wasn't even listening. His tail was fluffed up, his ears flat on his head and he was baring his teeth and growling at... basically nothing.

The young alchemist reached his hand out, but before he could touch him, the raccoon lunged down the stairs.

"Wait! Rudiger! What are you doing?" He called out, running down after him.

"W-wait! Now get back here! You can't just leave me here! I-I ORDER you to get ba-UGH! You lowlife!" The princess yelled, only to be ignored yet again, and ran down too.

Varian kept running, and the deeper he was going the darker it was getting. He kept calling for Rudiger all the while, but to no avail. Not only that, but no matter how fast he was running he couldn't keep up with him and with every passing second the sound of the raccoon's steps was fading. Until Varian reached the end of the stairs and couldn't hear it at all anymore.

Instead, all he could hear was the sounds of his racing heartbeat and puffed breathing, which were not caused by the running alone.

Rudiger wouldn't act like that without a good reason. Someone (or something) really dangerous was down there, wanderring around. And so was Rudiger, all by himself...!

"-ey! Answer me, you lowlife! I can't see a thing down he-!" The princess called out at the young alchemist, until she crashed into him and they both fell on the ground. "Ugh! Please, don't let me be dirty after this. My dress is already in an awful state! That's more than enough" She said as she stood up.

"I hate to tell you this, but right now we've got bigger problems." He said, standing up too.

And then suddenly (in perfect timing, once again) the ground started to shake again and a loud, thunder-like sound filled everything. But after a few seconds, they stopped.

"Uhh... What was that?" The princess asked fearfully.

"I don't know. But like I said, we've got bigger problems." He replied, brushing off his own fear, and shook his staff a bit, in order for the glow to return.

"Like what? Your raccoon running away?" She sneered, crossing her arms

"Yes. And the fact that there's a person, or a creature, or something like Gothel running around here." He continued, urgency echoing in his voice, making the fear slowly reappear on both their faces.

"...When you say here, you mean...?"

"Right here, where we are."

"Couldn't you have said it sooner?! Look, if you want to look for your raccoon, go ahead! But, I'm going back!" She shouted as she turned to go back, only to-

_Bump!_

"OOWW! What the-"

"What is it?" Varian asked, rushing to her side, and upon shedding light before him, his breathing hitched.

In the place of the staircase now there was-

"A WALL!" The princess yelled, rubbing her head.

"How-How did it- How did the stairs disappear? They were right here just a second-" He paused for a moment a thought crossing his mind. "Before the earthquake and that thunder-like sound...!"

"Both of which also happened, before they appeared." She added.

...

The two froze, as a soft wind suddenly blew and a rather familiar sound echoed. After a few seconds of dead cold silence, the wind stopped, but only after the sound was heard again, this time clearer:

_... I...-ee yo... I... s-see... you...!_

Varian and the princess exchanged a terrified look, before she grabbed onto his upper arm.

"Now I'm starting to understand how the mice feel when they're caught in a trap." She whispered.

"Honestly? Me too." Varian said, as he slowly pulled away and started walking. "Come on. We have to find Rudiger and get out of here."

 _And I thought we could actually communicate, for a moment..._ She thought as she caught up to him, narrowing her eyebrows. "Correction: We have to find a way to get out of here!" She spat bitterly.

"We will, after-"

"No afters! We're in the same huge, dark place as a... a something that's after us! We have to get out of here as soon as possible!"

"I'm not going anywhere without Rudiger." He said, trying to keep his voice steady.

"It's just a stupid pet! Big deal!"

The young alchemist came to an brupt halt at this and turned to face her, with an enraged look. "Rudiger is NOT a pet! He's my friend! My best friend! He's always listened to me, always supported me, always stuck by me! And I am not gonna leave him here alone with whatever monster is strolling around! I don't care about what you think we must do, unless we find him, we're not leaving this place!"

After he finished he kept walking in a faster pace, but for a moment she stayed in her place. She could- She wanted to say something to defend herself, to make him understand that it would be pointless to look for the raccoon, but...

She ran to catch up. Besides, maybe it'd be better to let it go. She could let it go. Unlike that bitter, stinging feeling inside her...


	29. Chapter 29

Rudiger woke up alone in a large, dark room, which seemed to have some strange scribbles on the walls. He looked around in confusion, unable to understand what exactly was that room, or how he even got there in the first place. All he could remember was lunging at that glowing silhouette and then running after it. But after that... nothing.

Hold up, when he ran after it, Varian- He was calling him, he must've been following him! But where was he now? He definitely wasn't in that room with him. So...?

Pushing thoughts of the worst at the back of his mind, Rudiger started running around in the room, looking for the exit. But much to his shock, there wasn't any exit. No doors, no windows, nothing but walls. Surrounding, imprisoning... suffocating.

No... No, there had to be an exit! He had to get to Varian!

The little raccoon kept pawing at the walls and chittering intensely, hoping against all hope that he would somehow escape, or at least that his cries would reach someone. And a few seconds later, it appeared that they did. However, the person that heard him, was certainly not who he wanted to.

* * *

"Rudiger? Buddy, are you in here?" Varian called out, worry creeping in his voice, as he entered yet another room that turned out to be empty.

"It's not here either." The princess said, coming out of the room at the other side of the hallway with a glowing vial at hand, trying to conceal her exhaustion.

He didn't give any response. He simply stood at the room's entrance with his back turned on her, staring into its darkness. Into the same darkness they kept finding in every room, every turn, every hallway of this massive maze they were trapped in. While every few minutes a chilly breeze, accompanied by unclear whispers, would echo, as the only answer to their calls. And this had been going on for three... or perhaps four hours.

Varian wouldn't admit it (or maybe he wouldn't even accept it), but he was really starting to feel tired. And something even worse.

He felt his stomach tighten even more and his knees felt weak, while painful what ifs were ringing in his ears.

_What if Rudiger was already out of reach? What if that thing got to him first? What if he was go-_

_Stop! That's_ _enough!_ He silently blocked them out.

He couldn't afford this. He couldn't let those thoughts linger inside him and control him. He had already lost his Dad... he would **not** lose Rudiger too! Especially to someone like Gothel!

He turned around abruptly, startling the princess, and kept moving down the hallway.

Regina followed him slowly, for one due to tiredness, and for two due to hesitance. Since their disagreement a few hours ago, if she didn't have to report the emptiness she was finding in the place of the raccoon, she didn't talk at all. And she was thinking that she should. Stinging feeling or not, this couldn't go on for much longer. The fact that that they still weren't caught by whoever was taunting (or perhaps threatening) them behind winds and whispers was... pleasant, but that didn't mean that she wanted to wait until they'd run out of luck. Besides, all this time they were searching they found no sign of the alchemist's pe-... friend... Maybe it was time they-

...

Varian and the princess stopped dead in their tracks, when a cold wind filled everything once again. However this time, instead of just the unclear words there was some other sound too.

...

The new sound was getting a little clearer with every second, and Varian was nearly knocked out by relief.

"It's Rudiger!..." he exclaimed, as a smile that was about to appear on his face faded abruptly. If they could hear him only because of the wind... O _h no!_

Varian immediately hurried forward, towards the wind and the sound of his friend's chitterings, ignoring the princess, who kept calling at him to wait.

Forward and right... then a left turn and...and forward again...

...

The young alchemist forced himself to speed up, adrenaline and dread coursing through his veins, as the sounds seemed to subside.

"No no, not now...! Come on!" He mumbled to himself, his legs almost barely supporting him. But he couldn't stop. Not when he was so close. Not when Rudiger needed him.

He pushed further and just as they completely faded, he found himself in a chamber larger than all the rooms he'd seen before combined. He didn't have time to even look around and his attention was grabbed by a sound of fast steps coming towards him, and soon soon he noticed a small form in the dark.

"Rudiger!" He gasped as he all but collapsed on the floor, letting his scared friend jump into his arms. "Oh, buddy, I was so worried about you! I... I thought I lost you...!" He said, his voice trembling in relief, as he pulled away to look at him. "Are you okay? What happe-"

"Oh! ...Great! Y-you found it..." The princess suddenly said as she entered the room, panting. "Now can we just GET OUT OF HERE?!"

The eyes of the other two went wide, remembering their situation. But just as they all went to leave, a powerful, cold wind hit them like a whip, sending them all to the other side of the room. And it didn't stop there. It kept blowing from above them, pinning them to the ground.

Varian tried to use his staff for support in order to stand, but the wind (or rather, the one creating it) wouldn't let him move an inch. Every attempt he was making was only earning him a good smack on the back or the head and a kiss with the floor.

But suddenly, another wind started blowing, not as strong as the one keeping him and the other two to the ground but swift and warmer, and it seemed like it was trying to push the first wind away from them.

The two winds clashed and soon they both just kind of... subsided.

Varian exchanged a shocked and confused look with the princess, while Rudiger pressed himself closer to his friend, looking around cautiously.

No glowing silhouette seemed to be around, but he wasn't sure if that meant it wasn't there at all. The one thing he definetely knew was that he wouldn't leave Varian again. He saw where that got him... Where it got all of them...

"Oookay... d-did that... 'wind' now protect us?" The young alchemist asked, but the question seemed to be more towards himself than her.

He already knew that there was someone like Gothel down there, and that someone was certainly the one who attacked them with the first wind, but the second... Where did it come from? Was there two of those creatures or people or... whatever they were?

"...I'm not really sure what happened here," She replied, standing up "but I know that I want to get out of this place immedia- AAAAAHHHH! SOMETHING TOUCHED MY FOOT!" She screamed and rushed to hide behind him.

The young alchemist quickly shed light with his staff before them, and what touched her foot turned out to be...

"A scroll?"

"A what now?" She questioned peeking above his shoulder.

Rudiger brought the scroll to his friend and he unravelled it. Although, whatever was written on it... didn't make any sense at all. The only thing that was somehow understandable was a picture of a skull with curled horns on the top and bottom of the scroll.

"What's all this chicken-scratch?" The princess said with a raised eyebrow.

"I-I don't think that's chicken-scratch." Varian said, looking at it more carefully. "It appears that it is some sort of ancient language. I've never seen anything like it!" A small smile made its way to his face as he was speaking.

"Really, what's the difference?" She questioned with a deadpan voice, earning an annoyed look from him.

The little raccoon started chittering at them and when he had their attention, he pointed at the walls. Varian stood up and walked closer to the wall, and upon shedding light on it, he saw the symbols of the scroll scribbled on the walls, on which there were some small shelves full of scrolls.

"Woah..." He breathed as he looked around with eyes wide and mouth agape.

If he wasn't tired from all that running from before, he would probably be racing all around the room, looking through all the scrolls and at all the walls. But-

"Um, hello? Can we get back to getting out of here? NOW?!" The princess called out in exasperation and Varian returned to the harsh reality.

He turned around to leave with the others, looking at the scroll in his hands with uncertainty... before he rolled it up and put it in his satchel. It wouldn't hurt if he got at least one, besides there were hundreds, or probably thousands of them down there...-

Wait... what was...

"HEY! What are you staring at?! Come on already!" She called out at him again.

But Varian ignored her and started walking towards the center of the room, where a large pillar stood, with a curious and questioning, but at the same time distant and clouded look on his face, almost like he was hypnotised.


	30. Chapter 30

Varian was standing frozen in front of the pillar, staring with eyes wide at the giant image painted on it, while everything else seemed to fade.

The image was depicting a tall, black creature that looked like it had come straight out of a nightmare. Instead of feet, there were tentacles on the lower part of its hulking body. Sharp fangs were coming out of its mouth and two curled horns were sticking out its head, while its all-yellow eyes were filled with a twisted pride, like a satisfied predator moments before it devoured its prey. Its arms were wide open and imprisoned in its long, claw-like fingers were two spheres, one in each hand. The one inside the right hand had an orange and yellow symbol of a sun, while the one inside the left hand a light blue symbol of a crescent moon.

Looking at it, Varian felt overwhelmed by a torn uneasiness. Because on the one hand, the creature was plain unnerving to look at. But on the other, he felt as though he knew it, and this uneasiness it was causing him wasn't new, at least not entirely. It felt like he was reliving the moment he first saw Gothel, but somehow different. However, he didn't know what that difference was. Perhaps that was why he couldn't look away from that image. Because he was trying to find out what exactly was that difference.

And more importantly... because he was trying to remember that creature...

At the same time, slowly (almost on its own) his hand was moving to hold the sword. But a moment before he could touch its grip-

"Hey! Hey, what are you doing?!" The princess shook him back into reality.

"Wh- what...?!" He stammered woozily.

"Don't you 'what' me! We have to escape this place at some point and you just run off like that?! And to think you lectured me before for that very reason!" She snapped, while a nervous Rudiger caught up to them. "What are you even looking a-AAAAHH!" Upon seeing what he had been staring at she shrieked and hid along with the raccoon behind him. "What **IS** that?!"

Varian's face filled with disapointment. "So, you don't know what... or who that is?"

"Uh... no? Why? Should I?... Do you?" She felt her stomach drop as the last question escaped her lips.

The young alchemist looked back at the image, his expression tense with discomfort. "I'm not sure. I know I've never seen, let alone met that creature. But when I look at it, I have this strange feeling. Like something inside me just... knows it."

"So, you're basically saying that you remember... something you don't remember?" She asked, barely undesrtanding.

"Probably yes. If that makes any sense..." He replied, just as confused. _Which it doesn't._

However, he wasn't the only one who felt like he had seen that creature before.

Rudiger started chittering loudly at the other two and scampered towards the way they came from. But quickly stopped to wait for them to follow him.

"I never thought I'd say that, but I think that your raccoon is right. We'd better get going now. We'll worry about this later." the princess said and Varian gave her a small nod, before they went to Rudiger.

But just as they reached close to the chamber's exit, Varian felt that warm breeze again push him gently to look behind him, while a small voice whispered inside it:

"Please...".

He paused for a moment, but quickly started walking again, after giving a conflicted glance at the pillar. However, all of a sudden the warm wind blew again, and this time it was strong enough to throw him on the ground.

Rudiger and the princess immediatelly turned to him, the first worried, the second annoyed.

"Seriously? What now?" the princess groaned.

" I... just got shoved by a wind. Again." He answered with a thinking expression as he stood up, earning looks of alarm from her and his friend.

"Then why are we still here?! Let's go!" She called out and grabbed Varian's upper arm, but he immediatelly pulled away.

"No, wait! It-it's not the same as before!"

"What?" The alarm on her face was suddenly replaced by confusion.

"The wind that pushed us before was cold. But the one that pushed me now was warm." He explained.

"Warm? Like the..."

"Yes. The one that protected us." He finished and right on cue, that wind blew again, whispering again the word 'Please'.

The trio looked around, but for once again, they saw nothing but black (Rudiger included).

"And... what could it want from us?" Regina asked, skeptical more than anything.

" I think it... or perhaps the one creating it, wants help." The young alchemist answered, much to the surprise of the princess and the critter.

"Help?" She asked and he nodded at her.

"Before we ran down here, Rudiger and I felt a breeze and heard someone call for help. And just now, we heard it again, saying 'Please'. Maybe it's someone that's trapped here like us."

The princess seemed to be getting convinced, when her face turned pale abruptly. "Wait a minute...! If it is as you say, and whoever sent that warm wind is someone trapped who needs help and stuff... What if the one creating the first wind was that creature on the pillar...?!"

_..._

A chilly gust blew around them softly all of a sudden as if it was circling them. And mixed with it, was a laughter-like sound.

 _...Heh... Someone_ called...?

Varian immediatelly grabbed a stickbomb from his satchel, looking around anxiously, but he tried to suppress his fear.

Something that Regina obviously didn't, since she grabbed on to his upper arm again.

And Rudiger remained by his friend's side, also looking around for anything glowing.

"Hmm... Why are you so tense now, dears...?" The voice whispered, its tone almost gentle. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Really."

"You mean other than you?" Varian spat, putting on a brave face.

"Oh... Now that's pretty hurtful, wouldn't you say? Haven't your parents taught you any manners, young man?"

Heearing those words, the young alchemist gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the stickbomb, part of him thinking to reach for the sword. "They have. But they have also taught me to save my manners for those who deserve them!"

"My, my, you keep being hurtful..." Its tone was getting darker with every word. "But you know what?"

"Agh!" Varian suddenly felt a strong invisible punch in his gut and dropped to his knees, letting go of the stickbomb to clutch it.

The princess kneeled beside him, shocked and unsure of what to do next. She just touched his arm, looking at him with worry.

Rudiger had turned to him too, placing his front paws on his lap, face full of concern. But he quickly looked around again, growling.

"I can be hurtful too." The voice sneered with a smile echoing inside it.

Varian slowly raised his head with an angry look.

"Now will you behave like a good boy? Or will I have to keep being hurtful to all of you?" It questioned, as the wind that was circling them started raging and tightening around them, leaving them less and less space with every second. "The choice is yours." It hissed and the wind abruptly engulfed them completely, hitting them rapidly, coldly, mercilessly.

The trio kept trying to escape, but there was hardly any space anymore. Soon they couldn't even see each other, because the wind had wrapped around each of them.

"ENOUGH! S-stop!" Varian called out, but he didn't receive any respone. "STOP IT! PLEASE!"

* * *

Varian woke up.

From his place on the small bed he was lying on, he took a look around. An empty room, that was lighted dimly by a small torch hanging on the wall on his right. Right under the torch, his staff, satchel and sword. And carved on severalparts of the walls were those strange scribbles. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, as he tried to understand what had happened.

He remembered that voice... that wind trapping him and the others-

Where were the others?

Without a second thought, the young alchemist stood up, grabbed his stuff and rushed outside.

"Rudiger! Princess!" He called out, finding himself in a large empty space, with a big tree with gnarly branches standing tall in the middle. It almost looked like a smaller version of the tree the entered. "Hello?" He called out again.

"Hello, dear." A voice replied. A voice he wasn't sure he recognised.


	31. Chapter 31

"Hello, dear."

Alarmed, Varian immediately grabbed the sword without a second thought, the soft, second-lasting glows and that sense of completion always there. He turned to the right, toward the source of the voice. But all he saw was the faint silhouette of a short woman with two big pig-tails, sitting behind a curtain with a light blue glow surrounding her.

"I see you're awake already. Are you feeling any better? You and your friends went through quite the ordeal." She said gently. From her voice it was clear that she must have been pretty old.

"Who are you? Wh-Where are Rudiger and the princess?" He asked and took a step back, eyeing her with uncertainty and question.

The woman was silent for a moment, her gaze fixed on him, studying him with a hidden glee.

A real young wizard of flesh and blood, standing right in front of her...! And based on that colored streak in his hair and the glow she saw before, he must have been a pretty special case. Maybe one of the others had made a family... He did say he knew Gothel, and (in a way) their master... However, her attention quickly drifted to the familiar sword in his hand.

 _Is that... a shadow-blade?!_ She thought shocked, as she felt a sudden pain in her chest, and that warrior's face flashed across her eyes, growling dangerously:

_"You have already taken so many of us! You **won't** take him too!"_

...Some things were just so bitter that couldn't be forgotten. Not by the mind, not by the heart... not even by the body.

And the questions inside her were even more bitter: Why was he holding this damned weapon? And how did he got it, to begin with?

"Answer me!" Varian demanded, getting impatient.

She gave a soft chuckle, dismissing her thoughts. "Oh! I stared. My apologies, but... I just couldn't help it. It's so nice to meet you in person." She said, her tone quickly getting somber. "It's been so long since I've met someone..."

The young alchemist lowered the sword, but held it tighter, looking confused more than anything else. "What do you mean?"

"...What's your name?" She asked, ignoring yet again Varian's questions, which really started annoying him.

"...Varian. " He answered after a moment of silence, which probably lasted too long.

"Varian..." She repeated "What a unique name..."

"Yeah, it is." He said quickly, not bothering to hide his annoyance this time. "Now would you mind telling me who you are? And what have you done with-"

Before he could finish, the woman blew in her palm and a soft warm wind touched Varian's face, whispering 'I am a friend.'

He looked directly at her in surprise, putting the sword back in its sheath. "Y-You're the one that helped us before?"

"Indeed I am. You may call me Mrs. Sugarby. As for your friends, they're fine. But I suggest we let them rest."

* * *

Rudiger woke up next to the princess, who appeared to also be coming to.

"Mmm... What... What happened...?" She mumbled sleepily, before noticing the critter beside her. "Oh. It's you. Where's that lowlife? And where are **we**?!"

They looked around in sudden alarm but there was nothing to be seen, other than walls and a torch that was barely lighting the small room.

Rudiger immediately felt crushed by terror, because this situation was far too familiar.

An encounter with that creature, followed by waking up in a dark room... without any way out... and without Varian!

They both exchanged a worried glance and rushed to a wall, slamming their fists against it with all the strength they had, while desperately screaming for help (or chittering in Rudiger's case). Although this time no one heard.

Or perhaps someone did. And made sure that no one else would.

* * *

"Please, have a seat." Sugarby said, stretching her fingers, and suddenly a piece of the floor next to Varian started rising, slowly taking the shape of a wooden chair.

The young alchemist didn't say anything. He could only stare in bewilderment and curiosity. Something that didn't go unnoticed.

Sugarby couldn't help but smile at his reaction. He was really easily impressed. He reminded her of someone...

"Well?" She motioned to the chair.

"Oh! Heh... right." Varian said and quickly sat, with a small, awkward smile on his face.

"...Would you like something? Perhaps a spot of tea?" She questioned, and poured some tea in a cup from a small teapot.

Before Varian could say anything, a tray with the teacup on it had appeared before him. He didn't really like tea, but that scent coming from it was so beautiful... and so familiar... And besides, it would be rude to say no.

In the end he reached out and took the cup, thanking the woman. He brought it close to his face and took a sip, immediately feeling a lovely, flowery taste in his mouth, while that sweet aroma enveloped him in a warm, gentle embrace. And as he was lowering the cup, he couldn't help but feel like he could hear something, at the back of his mind.

Someone speaking. And someone else laughing.

But who they were... and what were they talking about... He had absolutely no idea.

"What's wrong? You don't like it?" Sugarby suddenly asked, realising that something was troubling him.

"Huh? N-no, that's not it. I-I mean- I... I do like it, it's... delicious. Really. It's just..." Varian stammerred nervously, feeling her expectant gaze resting on him (even though he could only see her silhouette.). "... I was wondering, what tea is that?" He asked, wondering what exactly triggerred that flash.

"Why, it's rose tea." She replied with a smile echoeing in her voice."I personally like lavender tea better, but this. This has a very special place in my heart. I remember me and my family having it almost every day. Before..." She stopped, her smile fading.

"Before what?"

She was surprised he hadn't realised what she was talking about, but continued nonetheless.

And before she did, she slightly growled, glaring at the sword. "Before **they** tore us apart...!"

"They?" He inquired, hoping she wouldn't react badly.

"Our enemies. A savage group of people who have always been hunting us down and forced us into hiding. Simply because we were stronger than them. Different than them." She hissed darkly, pain and anger ringing in every word.

Varian shifted uncomfortably on his chair. Even though it wasn't in the same extent (or even in the same context) as her, he knew how that felt like. That feeling of being different and forced to hide it. Of being rejected because you couldn't fit in. He had to face them nearly every day, and especially when they were forced to move because of him.

"...And one day... we decided to end this. We wanted to show them that we could be trusted. And so, on a cold winter's day we invited them to a reconciling feast. That was our biggest mistake." She carried on, feeling again that pain in her chest. "We decided to trust them, despite all they did to us... We let them inside our home and fed them... And how do you think they repaid our generosity?!" She glared at him, her eyes glowing white for a moment, as the pain grew stronger.

Instictively, Varian's hand moved to the side, ready to grab either the sword, or a stick-bomb from his satchel. However, he quickly withdrew it, when he realised she had been staring at him.

A stunned silence lingered between them for a moment.

Varian rubbed his arm, avoiding to look at her, the expression on his face something between shame and worry.

"I...I-I'm sorry." He said softly.

"They attacked us...!" She continued, choosing to ignore what just happened and how it hurt her. Soon it wouldn't even matter. There was rage still in her voice, but not as intense as before."That night... was the last time I saw my family. Many of them were killed. And I almost was too..." She took a look at herself, after speaking the last sentence, which somehow felt pretty strange to say out loud. "A half-faced warrior hurt me and left me down this pit, leaving me for dead. I barely survived and found refuge in this tree. But when I thought, my torture was over... I was assaulted and imprisoned."

"By that creature that attacked us before. The one on that pillar, right?" He asked, curiosity (momentarily) replacing his uneasiness.

"No, no." She shook her head, speaking more calmly. "They're not the same. The creature that imprisoned me... that imprisoned all of us... I don't know what it looks like. But I know that it can't be who you saw on the pillar."

"You mean, you know who that is?"

"Yes. Our first master. Zhan Tiri, who was banished by those monsters a long time ago..."

The young alchemist felt a chill run down his spine. If she was an ally of that creature, that was causing him almost the same uneasiness as Gothel, something wasn't right.

"But the point is, that right now. We're all caught up in thesame mess. And if we want to get out of it, we'll have to work together." Sugarby said, moving closer to the curtain. "So what do you say? Will we help each other?" She extended her hand, expecting a handshake.

Varian said nothing. He just stared at her hand unncertaintly, worriedly.

"My dear, is something wrong?" She asked coming closer, and Varian immediately stood up, placing the teacup on the ground next to the chair.

"Uhh, sure! But, um... I think I'd better go get... my friends first...!" He said quickly, turning to leave.

But suddenly he stopped, feeling something cold and sharp piercing his wrist, while all feeling in his hand was lost. He looked back worriedly, (afraid of what he might see) and saw an arm coming frombehind the curtain. A light blue, transparent arm, its wrist ending on his own as if they were joined together.

He tried to pull away, but the arm was pulling him back, and no matter how hard he would try, he couldn't move (or even feel for that matter) his hand.

"I don't suppose you were leaving now?" Sugarby smirked stepping out of the curtain.


	32. Chapter 32

Sugarby's transparent, light blue form came floating out of the curtain, her all-white eyes reflecting a terrified Varian.

She was wearing a long, ragged dress with a large stain on her chest and a spiteful, obsessive smile that revealed a series of dirty fangs. While in her free hand she was holding a cane with a familiar-looking skull on it.

She kept moving towards him. And the closer she was coming, the deeper her arm was going inside his, making the numbness spread.

Without even thinking, Varian quickly brought out his sword and slashed her arm, stumbling away from her, while she turned away with a scream, clutching her cut arm, which slowly started materialising again.

She shot him a shocked and enraged glare, noticing how the sword was glowing. Just like his colored streak and his eyes...

Well, that was odd... She did see the glows before, but she hadn't realised they were coming from the sword too. There was no way it would be able to do that, unless...!

Fallen to the ground, as the feeling in his hand returned, Varian could only stare between Sugarby and the glowing blade (whose glow seemed to have lasted a little longer than usual), breathing shakily in shock at what he just did. Weren't for that electrifying adrenaline and that completion he felt coursing through his veins, he definitely would have fainted. And there was something more. A tiny, barely understandable voice in his ears, that felt somehow reassuring.

However, before he could dwell on it further, he noticed something that made him stand up in alarm.

Sugarby was gone.

But she soon made her presence known again:

"...Whο... are you...?!" She demanded, her voice as cold as the wind that carried it.

"Sh-Shouldn't I be the one to ask that?!" He asked back with a guarded look covering his fear, and a strong gust surrounded him and threw him on the floor.

"Oh, so it isn't obvious?" She hissed, as Varian stood up again, grabbed his staff and turned to run away, only to hit a wall... that wasn't even there a second ago. "I am what's left of my former self after that night! When they took everything away from me. My home, my family... even my body and my life! But my spirit couldn't move on. Not unless I returned the favor. And unfortunately, I had to end up here of all places, for whatever reason."

While she was speaking, Varian kept trying to leave from another direction, but wherever he was turning, a wall was rising, until there was nowhere to go.

"Trapped all alone in a prison with little to no chance of escaping... Seperated from those I care about, without even knowing if they're alive or dead... You have no idea how awful it feels." The witch's voice echoed in the cold. Dark, oily, mocking. Sounding like it was coming from everywhere at once.

The young alchemist tightened his grip on both the staff and the sword, as a new sense of concern clawed at his heart.

"What have you done with Rudiger and the Princess?" He called out, brandishing his weapon.

Sugarby simply chuckled. "...Mmm. Then again maybe you have..."

"That's **enough**! Tell me right now, or-"

"OR what?! Will you kill me with that sword of yours, like that warrior did?! I don't think so!" A powerful wind suddenly roared, whisking both items out of Varian's hands and to the other side of the room.

"No!" Varian cried in alarm and rushed to get them.

But he was stopped abruptly by another cold wave that circled him.

"Stay... That's a good boy..." Sugarby whispered, her breeze's chilly touch wandering across his shoulders.

The young alchemist cringed at that sensation, to which a soft pain was suddenly added. As if something was... piercing his shoulders!

He immediately lunged forward, before the pain gave way to numbness, took the sword backwards and brought it behind him.

This time Sugarby managed to pull away in the last second. But she quickly flew toward him again with a shriek.

Varian moved toward her too, to attack and she brought her cane before her, effectively blocking him. And the two kept their weapons crossed, and their eyes locked.

Momentarily increasing the already existent tension on his face and making her blood boil even more, those light blue glows had made their appearence again. In his streak. In his blade!... In his eyes.

So intense and so powerful, even without the glow. Revealing a darkness, that was contradicting their bright color, and a clash of wills.

If Sugarby knew one thing about those eyes, it was how dangerous they can be.

 _Time for a new strategy._ She thought, before she disappeared again.

"Hey! Get back here!" Varian yelled but received no answer.

And it was then when he noticed... It wasn't cold anymore.

* * *

"Seriously! I know you can hear me... whatever you are! The air is getting really stale and it's insufferable! Get me out of here this instant or so help me!" The princess yelled as she kept hitting the walls.

Rudiger did the same, but not as hard as before. Little by little, panic was rising inside him and making him freeze, no matter how much he tried to push it down.

He had been... trapped before... but it wasn't like that. At least that other time, he was the only one in danger. This time, unfortunately he wasn't. And he couldn't help but feel that it was his fault. He was the one who jumped down that staircase, after all...

"My, my, aren't you two noisy?" A familiar, mocking voice was suddenly heard as the room turned chilly.

Dismissing the cold and the uneasiness, Rudiger came and stood protectively next to the trembling princess, growling angrily, ready to attack anything that would get too close.

"I'll admit, you have been really helpful to me today. And I thank you for that. But I need you for one last thing." The voice said, in a gentle, yet dangerous tone.

* * *

_BOOM!_

Varian never thought he'd be so glad to cause an explosion, but apparently there's a first time for everything. With a smirk on his face and the last glowing vial at hand, he came out of the hole on the wall his explosion created.

Okay, so he was out and for now Sugarby was out of his hair. He had to find the others before-

_Rumble..._

All of a sudden the ground slightly shook, and a loud noise started to be heard. A noise that was definetely not a thunder. And behind it, Varian could faintly hear something else. Something like... chittering and screaming!

He immediately ran towards the sounds, which appeared to be coming from the room behind the curtain. Pushing it away, he found himself in a rather small space, with nothing but a large bookshelf covering the whole right wall. The moment he entered, yet another wave of cold filled the place. And he noticed, that one of the walls was moving.

"My dear Varian, there you are. I was just about to get you." Sugarby said, still not appearing.

"What? Who's-? Kid, is that you?! Get us out of here! Those walls are MOVING! They'll **SQUASH** us!" The princess' voice screamed from behind the moving wall, accompanied by Rudiger's chitterings, both sounding louder and more desperate than before.

"D-don't worry! I'll-" Varian rushed towards them, but was cut off by another of Sugarby's wind waves.

" **You** will stay put and do exactly as I say! That is, if you want them to get out of that room in one piece." A smirk was heard in the witch's voice, while her breeze danced around him.

And hearing it, the young alchemist could have sworn that it was laughing at him. But to him, it didn't matter as much as Rudiger's cries of protest, which were still laced with terror.

Through gritted teeth, this time he didn't stand up. He merely sat up, his fists resting on his knees and gripping his apron.

"...What do you want from me?" He asked, looking around with his eyebrows narrowed in anger. But his eyes were betraying the fast beating of his heart.

"I want what you have but I lack: your body and your life. Without them, a spirit cannot leave its turf. And once I'm free from here, with you as my vessel, I shall be able to do a lot more than that!" Sugarby explained, sounding nearly ecstatic.

"Like what?"

"Is that really what you must be concerned about right now, dear? If I were you, I'd make my choice and fast."

Behind the moving wall, Rudiger and the princess were barely able to move anymore. They were both wearing the same look of fear, waiting for Varian's answer with baited breath. However, the answer each was hoping, was different.

Varian squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his head with a sigh of defeat. "Okay, you win! Just let them go. Please."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the wall started moving back to its original place and when it got there, he stood up to run towards it. But he stopped abruptly, when Sugarby appeared before him.

"Have you forgotten our deal already?" She asked with a displeased expression.

"I want to make sure they're okay. Give me just one minute. You owe me that much." He replied, his tone hard as stone.

"...One minute." She said, after a moment of hesitation and stepped aside, while the wall sank to the ground.

Rudiger immediately ran to his friend's arms. Part of him wanted to rage at his decision, but at the moment he could only stay right where he was and seek some comfort, while Varian whispered in his ear.

Regina followed just as fast, but upon reaching them, she couldn't bring herself to face the young alchemist.

"Hey." He said with a sad smile and placed a hand on her shoulder, surprising her (so much for avoiding eye contact). "You'll be okay. You can carry on your own. All you must do is listen to Rudiger and be quick."

She raised an eyebrow in confusion, but before she could say anything he handed the raccoon to her (confusing her even more) and walked away from them.

He stood in front of Sugarby, anxiousness and dread dominating his face.

Rudiger chittered at the princess to get her attention, motioned with his head at the other two and jumped off her arms, leaving a little something in his place.

"I'm ready." Varian said, and the witch reached her hands out to-

_Crash!_

The princess threw the ball Rudiger gave her exactly between them, creating a cloud of smoke that enveloped them both.

Exactly a second later a loud scream echoed, and Varian came running out of the smoke with the sword in his hands.

Upon reaching the princess and his friend, he dropped to his knees. They came closer to check on him, their faces full of worry. But he quickly calmed them down a little with a relieved smile, which they returned.

Unfortunately, though, it didn't last long.

"Sly little wizard...!"

As soon as those words were heard, Varian's body suddenly fell on the floor, like a puppet that got its strings cut.

Unable to move, he could only stare in horror at the other two, who mirrored his stare.

Rudiger was about to go to him. But before he could, the princess grabbed him and moved away from the young alchemist's body, as his pupils disappeared and his eyes turned all white. The distraught raccoon kept struggling to get out of her grip, but she wouldn't let him go.

If anything, she was holding him tighter each second, like a scared child holding onto her teddy bear. While her eyes remained locked on to him-

And noticed something strange.

The colored streak on his hair was flickering. His eyes started turning from white to light blue, glowing dimly as well. And his lower lip was slightly quivering, as if he was trying to speak, but had forgotten how.

Slowly, he sat up, raising his head. And some shaky words started escaping his lips:

"Wi...W-With-... Wither... a-and decay..."


	33. Chapter 33

Darkness.

Cold. Empty. Unknown and dangerous. It was everywhere.

And Varian was sinking, drowning inside it. Powerless and numb, as with each second it was cutting him loose from the world, from his own body.

However, he could somehow still hear faintly Rudiger's distressed cries in the distance. And with the last ounces of will he had left, he tried desperately to hang onto them. Onto consciousness. Onto life.

But that darkness wouldn't let him. It seemed that it didn't take kindly to being defied. Because it was quick to thwart that attempt, pulling him down harder, away from the now fading cries.

Varian kept trying to resist, to not lose his focus on them and even to scream in hopes that Rudiger would hear him, but it was no use. No matter how strong his will, it was weaker than this abyss, which still kept pulling him effortlessly, until the cries were gone.

And their place was taken by Sugarby's jubilant, ecstatic voice:

"Ohh...! Yes, YES! So much potential! So much power! Gothel surely won't mind me tak-...! After all... deser-... it. I hope she's... can't wait to... agai-..."

But it wasn't long before it started fading as well...

And at the same time Varian was feeling even weaker than he already was, as even his emotions were now slipping away from him, each of them lingering for a long bitter moment before leaving him completely.

The anger and frustration of being unable to fight back.

The worry about what Sugarby would do with Rudiger and the princess, not to mention about what she was going to use him for.

The horror of what would become of his Dad. Of the thought of failing him... Of breaking his promise to him, to set this mess right...

All of them were gone...

And so was the witch's voice... and so was Varian himself. With the last thought on his mind, a single word:

"Help..."

...

...

...

_Wi..._

_..._

_..._

_With-..._

A voice... A tiny voice... Coming closer, getting louder.

Accompanied by a distant light, that wasn't too bright, but was still pushing gently through the shadows. That wasn't emitting warmth, but comfort and safety.

While the voice filled everything with a soft song, finally clear as crystal. Otherworldly. Haunting. Enchanting...

_Wither and decay_

_End this destiny_

_Break these earthly chains_

_And set the spirit free..._

With every word of the song, the light kept growing, without being blinding.

And Varian was starting to feel again. He could feel that light, giving him strength, guiding him out of the darkness.

While in the distance, he could also hear something else. Another song in the same melody, whose words were so quiet and incomprehensable that made it hard to be understood.

But soon even louder than that, something more was added... a long, pained scream...

* * *

"Wither and decay... End... this destiny... Break th-these earthly chains... And set... the spirit free..." Still as a statue, Varian kept repeating those words over and over, his glowing eyes gazing into the void.

Rudiger was still trying to get out of the princess' grip and run to him, but she wouldn't let him. The little raccoon couldn't stand this. Varian... his friend... he was right in front of him, having something very, very wrong happening to him and he-... He couldn't reach him!

It suddenly was that night all over again. When Varian woke up from his nightmare and found himself in a sea of pain and bright blue light. And Rudiger could do nothing, but just stand and stare in shock, at a complete loss for what **he** could do to help him. But this time, he couldn't go get Quirin. And he couldn't really count on the princess. She seemed to be as frozen as his friend, staring at him with a bewildered and terrified look. Still unwilling to let the critter go.

In that case, he had to make her.

"Ow!" She cried, as he bit her arm, making her loose her grip and allowing him to escape.

He scampered quickly towards Varian, ignoring the princess, who was coming from behind, calling him to get back. But before he could touch him-

"AAAAAAAAAHHH!" A loud, shrill shriek begun to echo, making him jump back in surprise. And it appeared it was coming... from Varian.

But it couldn't be him. He hadn't stopped reciting, but his voice was getting weaker, and so was the glow in his hair and eyes. Suddenly, it started spreading all over his body and soon he was wrapped in a coccoon of light.

The princess immediately stepped back, her terrified eyes shifting from Varian to Rudiger. There was a part of her that wanted to pull the raccoon back again, but it was quickly silenced by a doubt she couldn't (or probably didn't want to) understand. But even so, she had to admit that it was pretty surprising to her.

How the animal was somehow still moving toward the young alchemist, trying yet again to reach him with his chitterrings, which unfortunately were nowhere near as loud as this unending screaming.

He couldn't even make out Varian's voice anymore. Though looking closer into the light he realised why. He had stopped.

And then all of a sudden he collapsed again, as the light abruptly broke away from him with the most earsplitting shriek, taking the form of a large blue cloud of shimmers. Inside which was trapped the source of the screams: The ghost of the witch, whose form was melting away as the shimmers were raging, gradually drowning out her shrill voice, until there was nothing but silence and darkness.

Ignoring completely what just happened, Rudiger rushed to Varian's side again. Much to his horror, he wasn't moving, and seemed that he wasn't even breathing! He started running around his body in a panic, shaking him, rubbing his face against him, crying out in desperetion non-stop...! But Varian wouldn't wake up...

The little critter froze, feeling like he'd fall apart were he to make another move. He gazed helplessly at Varian's face, praying that this wasn't happening.

Regina walked towards them, hunching her shoulders a little, with her arms around her waist. Her expression was not much different than the raccoons's, but it quickly changed to a confused one, upon noticing something that he didn't in his frenzy.

That light blue streak in his hair... it looked like it was changing. Or maybe, like it was re-appearing.

And before she could react in any way, Varian inhaled sharply, making the other two jump.

After focusing solely on his breathing for a few good seconds, he slowly opened his eyes and immediately jerked up, his expression tense with fear. However, Rudiger quickly jumped in his arms, his quivering frame and loud, pleading cries tethering him back to reality and giving him reasons to calm down.

So he was back... he wasn't trapped in that darkness anymore... He even noticed the vial's soft glow close to him. He brought his distressed friend closer to him, running soothingly his fingers through his fur while holding back tears and reminding himself he was okay.

The princess approached them with a concerned look, reaching out a hesitant, shaking hand. But as soon as the young alchemist turned to look at her, she froze and her face turned red. She quickly withdrew her hand and looked away for a moment, before turning again to him.

Neither of them said a thing, they simply locked their eyes, both reflecting questions and exhaustion and worry and relief all at the same time. But one of them was hiding something. Something that no matter what couldn't be seen.

With a little less hesitation this time, she reached her hand out again, this time offering him help to stand up.

As surprised as he was by that simple gesture, Varian took her hand and stood up.

"Thank you." He said, the calmness of his voice contradicting with the tension on his body.

She gave him only a slight nod, avoiding eye contact. "...Let's just get out of here..."


	34. Chapter 34

Varian shook the vial violently, but all he got was a little flickering.

"Come on, you stupid... Come on!" He mumbled agitatedly, as he kept shaking, and a few seconds later, its blue glow returned. It wasn't as strong as it should have been, but at least it was there.

"Will it last?" The princess asked nervously.

"It better. It's the only one left." He replied, as he placed it carefully on the tallest shelf he could reach.

"Okay, so what are we looking for?"

"I don't know. A key, a map, something that would open a secret door... Anything that could help us get out of here." He said and turned to the large bookshelf in search of a way out (and maybe something more...), while cradling a sleeping, yet tense Rudiger in one arm.

He wasn't gonna lie, it would be more convenient to let him sleep on the floor nearby, but after all they went through today, he couldn't leave him. They both needed each other at the moment.

Regina stared at them for a while, but she quickly turned to the bookshelf as well, trying again to ignore that stupid, stinging feeling (and so much more...).

Going through the witch's stuff seemed to be their best, and actually only, choice, since they had turned the place upside down and still weren't been able to find any way out. She was the one that trapped them in the first place, after all. But as time was going by and the vial was starting to flicker, neither of them managed to find anything other than some other scrolls written in that ancient language, which all looked almost exactly the same as the one Varian took before.

"How many do we have now?" The young alchemist asked with a groan, after rolling up another scroll.

"I don't know... Eighty nine... Ninety nine... After forty seven I lost count." The princess replied wearily, sinking into a pile of scrolls. "This is hopeless..."

With narrowed eyes and another groan, Varian immediately turned back to the half-empty bookshelf, but he didn't reach out to take another scroll. And probably it wouldn't even matter...

_This is hopeless..._

Even before he heard those words, he could feel them. With every copy he found, with every flicker of the vial. Still he tried to push it down and keep looking, refusing to let go of the only lead he- they had left... And now he could only stare, struggling to keep himself from ripping every damned scroll to pieces, or from throwing the vial to the ground, to extinguish that bright blue glow above his head... His only source of light, which almost seemed to be mocking him. As if it was reminding him of its existence the one moment, and the next that it would soon be gone and leave him alone in the darkness.

"Hey, uh..." The princess suddenly came next to him, trying to meet his distant, forlorn gaze. "Listen, I don't really know how to do this, but... I got something that's been bugging me."

The young alchemist didn't respond in any way. Only for a short moment did his eyes drift to the side to look at her, before he quickly returned to his previous task.

"Excuse me, I'm right here! How dare you ignore me? What's wrong with you?" She huffed, putting her hands on her hips.

"You mean other than everything else that's already happened today?" he deadpanned as he kept rummaging through the shelves, his movements tense and in a way mechanical.

"You drop that attitude, and look at me when I'm talking to you! This is important!"

"Oh, really? How important exactly? More important than finding a way out of here before our last light source dies?" Varian said and turned to her, his voice tense with an agitation he was struggling to hide.

"Well... I-I..." She stuttered, taking a step back with a worried, doubtful look.

Varian immediately turned away again, before she could see him mirroring that look. "Just... keep looking."

He knew better than carrying on with this conversation. It was already starting to turn into a fight and the last thing he needed at the moment was to partake in it. Everything was enough of a mess as it was...

Regina stayed put, stuck in her place by mixed feelings. On the one hand, she was fuming and ready to throw another fit at him. But on the other... She simply stood there, her eyes drifting around nervously, contamplating what to do, as she wrapped her arms around her stomach again. In the end, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, bracing herself for whatever was to come (from him starting to yell, to her throwing up):

"I'm sorry."

Completely caught off guard, the young alchemist dropped some scrolls from a shelf. For a moment he remained frozen, before he turned to face her. "Wait, what?"

"UGH! Will you seriously make me say this **again**?! I'm. Sorry! For runnning off. For getting us stuck down this pit. For this whole ordeal with the witch and whatever was that happened with you before. This... this is all my fault..." She blurted out, as the frustration on her face was slowly fading with every word.

As she finished, her eyes locked with Varian's, this time showing clearly what she had tried to hide, and she could feel it getting stronger, more painful each second.

Varian opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a word-

"There, I said it! You can go back to searching now." She spat and immediately sat down with her back against the bookshelf and her knees to her chest, avoiding eye contact and slightly trembling.

Well, there was a familiar sight. But this time, it felt somehow different. As surprising as it was, this time the young alchemist could see more than just a trembling, nervous girl. He could see something honest, something regretful. And probably that was why it felt a lot stranger to try and talk to her. After giving a glance at the vial, he took a soft breath and sat beside her, wishing he was making the right choice.

"How come?" He asked in a calm tone.

"Huh? What do you mean 'How come?'?" She asked back, unsure of what had been more odd. The question itself, or the way he asked it? "You didn't want me to?"

"Well, it's just... I didn't really think you would. I called you out on... almost all of this before and you kept insisting it was my fault."

"I know... And I still stand by that choice. Above all, a princess must have pride!" She acknowledged, that snobbish tone coming back in her voice.

Varian rolled his eyes, stiffling a chuckle. "Uh huh... And what made you let go of your pride now?"

"...What I saw earlier." She finally turned and face him, a hint of sadness in her eyes.

Hearing her, Varian shuddered, as a sense of discomfort and fear washed over him. He tried to suppress those feelings, but they were pretty clear and not to the princess alone.

Rudiger thrashed a little in his arms, softly gritting his teeth. Apparently Varian wasn't the only one having nightmares.

He started running his hand across his friend's back and whispering reassurances, trying to ease him... and himself.

Given that neither dared to speak a word, the conversation seemed that it would probably end there. And even though they wouldn't mind at all if it did, deep down they knew that this time that couldn't be the case.

"You... you really scared us, you know..." The princess carried on. "For a moment we thought you were gone. For good."

"I thought so too." He held Rudiger tighter as he spoke, lowering his head with his eyes squeezed shut.

For a second, Regina was about to reach out her hand, but again she quickly retreated it. That little conversation, with them tiptoeing around each other and around this whole thing that happened before... they both felt so strange in completely different ways, with the second one being the more pressing of the two (at the moment). He probably wouldn't like it if she asked, and she probably wouldn't like it if he answered. But what she saw back there, it felt far too familiar to be dismissed.

"So... what happened then? How did you escape her?" She asked in an almost fearful tone.

Varian immediately turned away, a look of shock exploding in his face. He should have known it would come, but he hoped it wouldn't be now. He still didn't have anything yet... and he dreaded to admit it. But then he looked at those scrolls he dropped. All of them that were lying all around them, some opened some rolled up.

"I don't know what happened exactly..." He finally answered, staring at the ground, a struggle heard in his voice. "She trapped me in a world of darkness. It kept pulling me down and I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak... I'm not sure if I could even breathe. And then... I saw something. A distant light. And there was a voice behind it, singing a song. I think... they brought me back."

The princess eyed him with uncertainty, as he stroke his uneasy raccoon again. "Are you... telling the truth?"

"Yeah. Why would I lie?" He asked, sounding matter-of-factly, but looking almost shocked.

"Because I think you're hiding something." She replied, attempting (and failing) to harden her tone. "I saw you. Your eyes and your hair started glowing and you were reciting some strange stuff. You trapped that witch in a blue... shimer-cloud... thing. And you burned her!" She kept going, her words shocking Varian and scaring her. "You can't tell me that you're not hiding anything after this. She called you a wizard before. And I've-" She suddenly stopped herself.

"What? You've what?" He asked, his tone steady and still shocked, yet almost demanding.

Regina remained silent, picking carefully her next words. "...Remember yesterday? What you said about Gothel... claiming she was your mother?"

Anger flared in Varian's eyes. "Are you saying that...?"

"Listen, I know how messed up it sounds, but I've seen her do something similar. That's how she killed my parents... I'm just saying that maybe she-"

"No, she's **not**! She's not my mother, do you hear me?! She's not!" He called out, making her recoil a little.

Realizing, only when he stopped, that he had stood up and Rudiger had ran to a corner of the room. With a regretful expression, he quickly went and kneeled next to him. He found him facing the walls, whimperring softly, and his entire body was trembling.

The moment the raccoon noticed his friend was there, he came slowly, almost carefully into the hug he offered. But he still wouldn't calm down, no matter how tight the hug was, no matter how many the pets and the reassurances were. Varian had to do something else, but-

...

...He gave a glance behind him and caught the princess staring at him, hugging her knees. And as soon as she saw him looking, she looked away. And Rudiger didn't seem to be getting any better...

After letting out a sigh, Varian gently shushed his friend, before he begun:

_The sun is down_

_Stars are twinkling in the sky_

_The moon is out_

_You're safe in my embrace tonight_

_Our love's as constant as the stars that shine bright up above_

_And with this love and the night's soft breeze,_

_I've built for you a home..._

_Just sleep, my dear_

_Let your worries fall behind_

_And don't you fear_

_I am not going to leave your side_

_And if there ever comes a night that I... can't be with you..._

_You'll hear the moon whisper for me:_

_...I love you too_

As he finished, he sniffled a bit, feeling tears welling up in his eyes. Part of him hurt singing that song, but somehow he still couldn't help but feel like he needed it too. And it appeared that it had worked, as Rudiger had fallen asleep again. Varian looked at the sword, tempted to bring it out again. But after what he heard from the princess, he quickly turned his attention to Rudiger again.

"Hey..." The princess said awkwardly, after a few seconds, before sitting beside him. "Is your raccoon okay?"

"...Yes." The young alchemist answered, sounding almost hollow.

"Uh huh. Okay."

An uncomfortable silence was quick to settle between the two, but it wasn't long before it was broken.

"How are you so sure?" She asked.

He didn't look away from his sleeping friend as he answered"...Because... Because I remember her. In a way."

"What do you mean?"

"...I remember how I felt when she was around. How warm it felt when she held me. How happy I was when I could hear her voice or see her face..." He was hesitant to reply, and, just as it happened when he sang the lullaby, it hurt to say those things. So, why did he keep speaking... and more importantly, why could he feel a smile starting to appear on his face? "And all I ever felt around Gothel was anger and... and fear." His smile faded, as he remembered that night again. "So, there's no way, my mother is her anything like her...!"

"If I'm allowed to ask... what happened to your mother?" Regina asked, bracing for another outburst.

But Varian merely shrugged, as a saddened expression appeared on his face. "I really wish I knew that myself. My father never told me. He... He didn't really like talking about her. And especially about the day we lost her."

She reached her hand out to him, but this time with less hesitation than before, and she touched his shoulder, giving him a tight squeeze and earning herself yet another stare of surprise from him.

"I'm sorry..." She said softly, her eyes never leaving his.

Slowly and hesitantly like her, Varian placed his hand over hers and gave her the weakest of smiles, before guiding her hand off his shoulder.

She returned the smile, if only for a second, before they both went back to the bookshelf.

"Now what?" She asked. "I don't think we have much time."

"I guess we make the most of it." He said, and they both turned to the scrolls that were still on the shelves.

But then Varian noticed the ones he had dropped. He kneeled to look through them, and then:

"Princess, I think I found something!"


	35. Chapter 35

Regina immediately turned to see what Varian found. And just like him, she was pretty confused.

"Uh, what is that supposed to be now?" She asked, bringing the flickering vial close to them, so they could see it better.

"It's a... it looks like a notebook. If you can even call it that." Varian replied, before he started reading that notebook of sorts.

It actually looked like someone had grabbed some small, torn sheets of parchment paper and glued them together with a bit of sap and very minimal effort.

* * *

_Day 199_

_This is stupid. Little girls keep diaries. But at this point, I don't know what else to do._ _I've been here for quite some time already and I feel like if I don't do something with the thoughts in my head I'll go insane._

* * *

"Wait, hold on. That wich... was actually having a diary?" The princess interrupted Varian's reading, a giggle in her voice.

"Apparently she was." He stifled a laugh of his own, struggling to keep the supposed diary from falling apart, as he kept flipping through the pages. "Now, let's see if we can get anything useful out of it."

"Oh, this ought to be interesting. "

* * *

_Day 252_

_I hate humans._

_That's it for today. I just needed to see it in writing._

* * *

_Day 300_

_I hate humans._

_Yes, I am aware I have written this before... for about 50 times. But I need this. I need a way to get everything out of my system, and I don't have anything left anymore. I have no one to yell at, nothing to break, no power to use, not even a body to walk with! While that half-faced monster is still out there with her kind, destroying us and everything we have ever worked for with those cursed weapons! If there's any reason that I still somehow hold breath, it is to end her! And everything she's ever loved! If it is possible for them to love anything, that is._

* * *

_Day 486_

_Today I learned a very important thing: NEVER leave the tree at sunrise._

_I was certain I heard something, a voice perhaps. So I went out to see, thinking that it could be the others and they had come for me! Then I found myself able to fly higher, out of the tree, out of this ditch! I don't think I have ever felt like that! So free, so exhilirated! But alas, it lasted just a few seconds... After which I felt like I was leaving... for real. Immediately I sank back to the Pit and under the tree, barely making it, with my entire being shaking. I know it's not the best thing to be stuck in this situation, but even if there are some of the others that have moved on, I can't. Not yet. One way or another, I have to go back! I just hope that we'll have won by then. And even if we haven't, that I'll be able to slaughter that warrior myself!_

* * *

"Wow, seems like she's had... some issues." The princess said, unsure of how to feel about the things the young alchemist read.

"That's an understatement." He added. "Based on the things she told me, she must've known and been close with Gothel. They and more people like them must've been fighting together against the Dark Kingdom."

"You don't think they're still alive, don't you?" She inquired worriedly.

"I'm not sure. Sugarby said many of them died the same day she did. And if there were any others, we probably would have seen them with Gothel."

"Fair point. But, can't they be ghosts too?"

Varian looked back at her, sharing a concerned expression. But before they could carry on, the vial's glow faded for a moment, reminding them that it wouldn't provide them with light for much longer.

"Keep reading, keep reading."

* * *

_Day 591_

_Finally something good happened! I finally felt like myself again, after realising something about... my new state. Though my powers are gone, I have complete and total control over this whole place! I am honestly very disappointed in myself for not coming to this realization sooner, but I suppose there are no instructions or guidelines, or any sort of information of when you're a spirit._

_The only thing that worries me, is how, or maybe how long it'll take for me to learn to control it..._

* * *

_Day 904_

_Things out there can't be good. I sensed a strong, wave of darkness all the way from our land. It felt awfully familiar to the power of Zhan Tiri, but for some reason, I don't think it was in our favor..._

* * *

_Day 2.170_

_I've had my first candidate today. A young man, around twenty years old. He was caught in a snowstorm, and unable to see, he fell halfway into the Pit. Seeing my chance, I immediately rushed to my new body, but before I knew it, he had climbed back up. I didn't even have time to think of using my powers to hinder his ascend. It hurts and angers me how I couldn't do anything, but now_ _I can only hope I'll be luckier the next time._

* * *

_Day 3.693_

_I can't believe I've been here for over ten years... At this point I don't even know what to do anymore. Since the first time, humans very rarely find theselves down here, and when they do, I fail every time._

_I keep finding myself thinking about the others. What have they been up to all these years? Do they miss me? Mourn for me? Are they even alive? I've tried reaching out to them countless times, even though my magic doesn't work, and I don't know why, since it only makes me hurt. Not even their keys, the last things I have of them, offer me any comfort anymore. Only more bitterness and pain. What I wouldn't give for one more moment. I miss them all so much..._

* * *

"Keys?" Regina wondered aloud, as he finished reading that page. "What keys? There is nothing but scrolls here."

With a glint in his eyes, Varian quickly dropped the diary and turned to the scrolls. "The scrolls! That's it!"

"What's what now? You lost me." She asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"You said it yourself. There are only scrolls here, so they have to be the keys."

"Okay, but how ca-?" She stopped for a second, but quickly carried on with a sigh. "You know what, nevermind. Today we faced a ghost, and now we're running out of time. So, what do we do?"

"We have to look through them again. There must be something we missed." He replied, and begun looking.

The princess did the same, after placing the vial back on its shelf, while praying its glow wouldn't leave them now.

Fortunately, it seemed that from the first scrolls they got, with a much closer look, a little something was found. Most of them may have looked exactly the same, but on some of them, under the symbol of the horned skull, there was a small series of dents that formed a shape, different on each scroll. As if something was supposed to fit there but now was gone. One formed a bird, another a seashell, one other a paintbrush...

Though the problem now was-

"What do we do with them now?" Regina asked, and they both broke out in a cold sweat, remembering that even though they found a hint on how to get out of there, they had no idea how to use it.

And to make matters worse, the vial's glow had but half a minute to disappear.


	36. Chapter 36

This place seemed to honestly hate them. It was on its own a pretty bad place to be stuck at, but every step forward they were taking in it, was actually just to send them two steps backwards. With the last example of that, being the discovery of a way out, which they didn't even know how to use, as the weak light of the vial kept flickering, losing more of its glow every time. While Varian was desperately looking between the scrolls, trying to figure out something and the princess-

"That's it! I'm done with this place! We're done! We're doomed! **That's it**!" Was not really helping the situation.

"No, no, no! Stop!" He called at her, clearly on the edge of his own breakdown.

"Why?! You really think we can do something in less than a minute?!" She called back, as she turned to the scrolls he had dropped. "Look at this! And this! And this! They're all usele-! Huh?" She suddenly stopped, upon finding a single different scroll.

"What? What is it?" Varian asked, trying to make his way towards her... and almost tripping in some scrolls in the process. Just as the vial gave its final glow.

And everything surrendered into darkness. The silence with which the princess answered him, only making it feel worse. Varian felt his chest and throat burning, as a scream trapped inside them was making its way out, but merely in the form of slow, almost painful breaths. Unable to utter a word, he could only hold Rudiger tighter, while his legs little by little were giving away above the scrolls. He tried to keep it together, he tried to stay up, to say something, to even breath normally...!

But suddenly it seemed too much. And that was probably the worst thing about this. It shouldn't feel like that, he shouldn't feel like that. He had taken a few moments to calm down, they found Sugarby's diary, they discovered a clue to a way out-...

Only to return to darkness... This time probably for go-

"-ey. HEY! Can you hear me or are you dead?" Regina's voice was heard, effectively silencing his thoughts.

Upon hearing her, he gasped. "Huh? Y-yeah... I'm okay." There was silence for a moment. A silence he found unbearable. "What happened before? Did you find something?"

"...I think I did. But I need to concentrate. So, if you please... be quiet for a moment." An edge was in her voice, but compared to the other times it was different.

It wasn't angry, or bitter, but low and concentrated and careful. It somehow reminded him of himself a little, when he was talking while doing his alchemy. This thought felt a little out of place, pointless even, but at least it kept his mind busy for a while.

Until-

"WHAT THE HECK?!"

A light?

Before either of the two could actually process what just happened, the... light suddenly flew right to the main room and stopped right above the tree that stood in the center.

With matching perplexed expressions, Varian and the princess followed it, watching as it momentarily vanished inside the tree. And when it reappeared, it revealed a piece of parchment paper folded in the form of a hand mirror as its source. While at the same time the ground slightly shook and a familiar thunder-like sound echoed, after which a spiral, downward staircase appeared around the tree.

Without even a chance to question what was happening, the paper mirror started slowly flying down the staircase and they immediately went after it, soon reaching the chamber from before, coming out of the back of the pillar.

As they kept following it towards the exit, Varian stopped for a moment and turned back to face the image of that creature again.

_Zhan Tiri..._

The name echoed in his mind in such a way that made him shudder, as that uneasiness from before returned strong as ever, laced with a new, but familiar bitterness.

A feeling of looking up at an image of someone that he was supposed to recognize, but didn't. Someone he was certain he knew, but when it came down to it, his memory had nothing of them to show him, but a (usually) bitter emotion.

As he stared at that image, with his lost, despondent eyes locking to Zhan Tiri's, his hand moved to touch the sword yet again. And when it did, just as soon as the blade started coming out-

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" The princess yelled at Varian, yet again snapping him out of his trance "That thing isn't waiting for us! Get going before we lose it!" As she was speaking she grabbed his upper arm and the two continued running after the light.

But at first, Varian was barely able to keep up. If the princess wasn't dragging him, he would have lost both her and the light. But even so, he was somehow... annoyed? Probably?

He himself didn't know how to describe that feeling, but he didn't want to leave that chamber. At least not yet. Not before he could understand, before he could remember...

He had almost half a mind to break out of her grip and turn back, but then-

"Hey! Watch it." Regina called out, as he bumped into her and the two almost hit the wall before them.

And only then did he actually notice that they had stopped and the light had disappeared again. Only to re-appear a few seconds later, accompanied by another slight quake and thunder-like sound, which were followed by the welcome sight of an ascending staircase.

The princess let out a relieved breath and immediately darted up the stairs so fast that Varian almost didn't see her. And soon, but with a sense of hesitation, he followed.

When the young alchemist finally made it up, everything was just like it was before that staircase appeared. The rain continued to fall, the princess was sitting in a corner next to her dress, trembling a little and the light that guided them had disappeared. The only difference seemed to be a crumpled-looking scroll in her hand.

"Hey... Are... are you okay?" He asked sitting next to her.

She was late to reply and her voice came as a whisper."...Yeah... Just tired. It's not like we went through a little, down there..."

"You could say that again..." He commented, and she giggled a little. "But, what did you do back there? And what is that scroll you got?"

"Look." She said and let him fully see it. "It might look like the others at first, but it was the only one that had an actual image under that symbol. **And** notice the dents it has, and how they fold?" She demonstrated a little as she spoke. "It's not just a scroll. It's an origami paper. I just folded it at the right spots and then... well, you were there. You saw what happened."

Varian was left looking at her dumbfunded.

"What?" She asked.

"You mean to tell me, that you were able to make an origami. Inside pitch black darkness?"

For a moment he could have sworn she blushed. But she quickly gave a prideful smile."Well... Of course! Not to brag or anything, but I'm amazing at it. I've been practising this ancient art for years, after reading an old legend from a faraway land. You see it was about this one-eyed boy who could create magic origamis by playing an instrument, and it was so good! I remember making them a lot back home... And pretending I could control them. And bring them to life like that boy did..." Slowly her pride was fading, and fondness replaced it.

Varian was smiling a little too, unsure of where it came from. Just moments ago he was frustrated for being unable to figure... anything out, and now he was at the front steps of a small talk. With a girl he could snap at and who could snap at him too, at probably any given time...

And the uncertainty was mutual. Regina didn't say a word beyond, not knowing why she was telling all that in the first place. What started out as a very rightful self-praise, was now turning into... into talking. Just simple talking about herself and something she liked. To a boy she knew was nothing but a lowlife, that fate forced her to work with...

Neither was looking at the other, both lost in their own thoughts, while the rain was falling still, but somehow a little softer than before.

After a few minutes, Varian was again the first to speak. "So... you like reading about legends?"

"...I guess. Mostly..." Regina's reply was low and hesitant. And it wasn't accompanied by a look his way.

"I prefer adventure stories personally. The tales of Flynn Rider is my favourite series. Ever heard of it?"

"Why are you telling me this?" Finally she looked at him.

He shrugged, petting Rudiger's fur. "I don't know. Why did you start... telling me all that stuff?"

"I'm not sure. It... I think it came on its own. I've never actually told anyone about this before." She answered, trembling again.

"Yeah, I don't usually do this much either. The only one I talk to like that is... Rudiger. And maybe sometimes my Dad."

For a moment surprise took hold of Regina. A question forming in her mind, but when she opened her mouth to speak it, she swallowed it. And it was stinging...

"Then I guess that makes you the expert among us." It was hard to tell if her tone was condescending or simply sarcastic.

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused, but the only answer he got was an unreadable expression.

he princess then stood up and wore her dress again, after making sure it was dry.

Varian kept looking at her, still expecting an answer that he wasn't sure he'd get. And she was still looking back at him with that same look, but through the cracks of her eyes, something could still be faintly seen. Something that even after all this time could barely be supressed.

She turned away, her arms instinctively wrapping around her stomach, silently barating herself. When-

"Just so you know... I'm really no expert at this." If she was expecting anything, it would probably be yelling. But this... this sounded just sad. "...I'm actually not sure if I'm an expert at anything anymore."

"No!" The word came out entirely on its own, Regina immediately covering her mouth the moment it did. But luckily for her it was pretty quiet.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing!" She blushed as she spoke, turning away to hide it.

The young alchemist leaned over, trying to see her face, when a thunder startled them both. And the princess clung to his arm with a yelp. But this time she pulled away before they could look at each other.

"I think... I think we should just sleep." She said and went to lie down at the other side of the tree, her face still being red.

As she walked away, Varian reached a hand out to stop her, but as soon as she had before, he retreated it. Looking first at her, and then at his sleeping raccoon, he laid down too, mumbling a familiar melody to help himself sleep and finally leave that never-ending day.

* * *

 _Noise... So. Much. Noise!_ Regina kept thinking as she was trying to sleep.

That stupid, annoying, forsaken rain! It wasn't enough that it was above their heads all day, couldn't it be more quiet?! She could have sworn that after she and the alchemist had stopped talking it had gotten louder.

Was it mocking her or something?

She sat up, looking outside...

Little droplets of silver falling all around, filling the air with a calming, clean coolness...

She stood and stared. Lost in that image, in that sound. And suddenly it stopped feeling grating. Instead it was...

_Beautiful..._

She looked at the young alchemist and his raccoon, who were thankfully asleep, and then went and sat right at the edge of the entrance, as close as possible. But still at a safe distance. There as she sat, she took a deep, deep breath, taking in all the coolness, all the... all the beauty.

It made her smile. And it made her wonder: How had she gone without this for so long?

Maybe...

She slightly lifted her hand, slowly reaching out to touch the rain. If only just a drop. It couldn't hurt-

_Stop!_

Just before she got it out, she withdrew it, as if she had been burned. And she felt it. She felt it burning, longing to feel the rain. But... But she couldn't do this... she knew that very well.

But it was still really painful. Craving for the very thing that could very easily destroy her...

She turned to look at the young alchemist for a moment, sleeping curled up with his raccoon in his arms. And she decided to try one more time.

Soon both of the two were asleep, each with their own special lullaby in their mind.


	37. Chapter 37

Outside, above the Ghosts' Pit, despite the storm and the cold, an owl was flying through the forest, gripping tightly inside his talons a letter.

Flying in the rain wasn't the easiest thing in the world, but if he was being honest, he had flied through worse conditions than this. The problem was that he didn't exactly know where his destination was. Those lands were pretty distant and any form of civilization there, was just some small villages, that usually didn't even exist on maps. That meant that he'd have to keep flying, for heaven knows how long...

Or maybe not.

A place full of wreckage with a single house standing, that also had smoke coming out of the chimney along with the faint scent of soup...

Yep, there they were.

The bird started descending, moving towards one of the windows of the ground floor. He was prepared to land on the windowsill, but since the window was broken he flew right into it and landed on the arm of his master.

A young woman dressed in brown with a sword strapped across her back. Her hair was short and dark and her eyes hazel. She smiled at the owl, before taking the letter he was holding.

"Hey, guys. We got another letter from your parents." She said and turned to her three comrades.

One of them was a bald and bulky dark-skinned man with black eyes and black facial hair, lounging on the couch half-asleep. His outfit was red and he was also wearing a necklace and an earing in his left ear, both of which were gold.

The other man had brown eyes and hair and a goatee. He was dressed in brown pants, a white shirt and a black vest, and he was sitting next to him reading a book.

The third was a young woman, a few years younger than her, with short brown hair and big green eyes. She was wearing a purple dress and she was sitting by the fireplace, with a little chameleon sitting on her shoulder.

"Let me guess. They want us to get back to Corona?" The second girl asked with a somber look, without turning away from the fireplace.

"Yeah... But this one seems a little more urgent. It says that if we don't all go back on our own, they'll send the cavalry to fetch us." She said, worry creeping in her words.

"Eh. Won't be the first time those guys will come after us. Right, Eugene?" The dark-skinned man asked his friend non-chalantly.

The other man, Eugene, lowered the book to reply. "Well, Lance, there's a difference between being chased for a kitchen raid and being forced to return to the kingdom. If we refuse, we're basically fugitives."

"You know it hurts to say, but mister bookworm here is right." She said with a sigh, before a smug grin appeared on her face, to which Eugene answered with an annoyed look and Lance with a chuckle.

"Would you guys knock it off already? This joke got tiring ages ago." He grumbled, turning from one smug look to the next.

"Yeah. We kind of have bigger problems than your poor reading taste." The woman commented again, increasing Eugene's annoyance and Lance's laughter.

The first lowered the book again, looking like his face was turning red. "For your information, Cassandra, The Flynn Ryder books are classics, and so full of nuance that they can be appreciated by anyone that has even the slightest hint of what you call reading taste. Which I'm willing to bet, you don't even have."

The three kept going on for a while, but the girl by the fireplace wasn't listening. She was too lost in her thoughts to partake in the conversation or to get her companions to focus on the issue.

If they were playing the cavalry card, they were really serious about returning to Corona. But they had yet to find anything they were searching for. And judging by what had happened there, things were getting worse. A lot worse...

"Raps? Rapunzel?" Cassandra's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "What do you think?"

Rapunzel turned to see all eyes fixed on her, waiting for a decision. Her decision. But was it really her place to make that decision? She may have been the princess, but she wasn't exactly the leader of this quest. And the person that actually kind of was... still hadn't come out of that room.

"I... think that we should all decide that. Going back may be the safest choice, but if our assumptions about this place are true, then we have to be close to something." Rapunzel said, turning her face upstairs as she finished.

"So, I guess now we have to ask weirdo too?" Cassandra asked, crossing her arms and suppressing an eyeroll.

"She has been up there for a while now, hasn't she?" Lance said, looking up with a concerned expression, which quickly changed to a suave one. "You know? I think someone should go up there and check on her. Possibly cheer her up. Give her a shoulder to cry on-"

"Easy there, buddy." Eugene stopped his friend before he could move more than two steps away from the couch.

"Lance, I think it's better I go." The brunette said with a smile, already moving to go upstairs.

"Oh, sure. After all, you're closer." Lance chuckled and fell back on the couch. "Tell her I'll be up if she needs me."

Rapunzel shook her head with a smile as she was ascending, but upon reaching the door her smile disappeared, and a hesitant frown took its place.

It was as if she just now realized the weight of the news she'd have to deliver once she opened that door. But the one she was worried about, wasn't herself. Instictively, her eyes drifted away and fell on her chameleon, who was quick to give her a reasuring glance and a soft squeak. That little guy always knew how to help her.

After returning him a small smile, she knocked on the door, but there was no response. So she opened it and walked quietly inside, finding a tall white-haired woman sitting cross-legged on the floor while cleaning a giant black sword. Her back turned on the princess and next to her was left untouched a small bowl with soup.

"Adira?"

The moment she heard her name, she interrupted her task and placed the sword back in the sheath across her back. "Yes, princess?" She asked without standing up, or even turning to face her.

Rapunzel pushed some of her hair behind her ear before she continued, her eyes drifting between Adira and the floor. "Are you... You need to come down for a moment. We have-"

"You got a letter from your parents and the King to return to Corona. I heard you." She interrupted, a rather unexpected calmness in her voice. "If short-hair is correct about the warning they gave you, then you and your friends should do as they ask and go back."

"And you?"

Adira gave nothing but a silent sigh as a reply. And Rapunzel's face fell. She opened her mouth to speak, but Adira was quicker.

"I'll carry on alone. Especially now, that I've seen what happened here, I can't go back. And I know I can't ask you to risk yourselves any more for my sake."

"But they want us all back, you included. And besides-" The brunette suddenly stopped, feeling as though she was somehow crossing a line. A very obvious, very painful line.

Adira herself seemed to have felt it too, as she tensed a little. "Besides what?" The tone of her voice didn't change, but it was laced with a nearly unnoticeable bitterness.

Rapunzel wasn't sure if she could bring herself to finish that sentence. Mainly because she knew neither how to say it nor how Adira would react. She did seem surprisingly calm about it, but everyone has their limits. And Rapunzel didn't want to push the woman through hers...

For a few seconds, that felt like an eternity, the only sound that was heard was the rain from outside, hitting viciously the windows, making Adira's blood boil.

That night... That last night... It was raining then too.

...!

A thunder tore the sky and it all flashed through her eyes.

The soldiers. The fire. The screams... Her hand trembling. The blood on their faces. The moment they should have said their last goodbye...

As quickly as they came, they faded with the thunder's light. And there she was again. In the present. Which truth be told, was about just as grim as the past.

Still though...

"If that was true then none of us would be here now. They're still alive, wherever they are. And I'm going to find them, no matter what. That's what I told your father back then. And that's what I'm telling you now." She said, looking outside the window, her eyes glistening with determination.

But she soon turned away from it, noticing the princess' presence beside her.

"And I can't do anything to change your mind?" She asked.

"Would anyone be able to change yours, if the people outside this room were in their place?" The warrior asked back and the princess looked at the floor, knowing the answer very well. "I believe we should get some sleep. We've got a long way to go tomorrow."

"All right. Goodnight." Rapunzel said, and went outside, before giving her one last sad glance.

Once alone, Adira brought out a small piece of paper. Pretty old and a little tattered. So simple yet so special. A drawing of two boys and a girl standing together. It wasn't exactly a child's drawing, but you wouldn't say that it was a peak form of art. It was just what it was.

Three children. Three siblings. Standing by each other with smiles on their faces, ready for anything.

And it was funny. How this old thing could carry this much power, that it was making her see, or even remember, something that wasn't even there. Perhaps that was what its creator was going for. Showing not what used to be, but rather what should have been.

And even if it wasn't that... maybe she could indeed remember. Maybe what she was looking at, **was** something that was real. And she had just forgotten about it...

Had it really been that long... since then?

With a long sigh, she ran her hand through her face, drowning the need to yell.

"The things I go through for you, you idiot..." She muttered under her breath, before looking outside again. "I still got killing rights though. So please... stay alive."


	38. Chapter 38

Unable to get any sleep, Gothel was pacing the floor of the throne room, her thoughts pacing around her mind in perfect synchronization.

She already was on edge for the whole day and that terrible headache she had just as she simply tried to close her eyes for a moment, was the icing on the cake. And she knew that it wasn't random... She hadn't experianced something like that in years, probably centuries. And if it came back, it couldn't be good.

She wasn't really worried about the boy. She knew he was more powerful than that (whatever **that** was...). She just hoped he wouldn't know too. Because if he did, things could get even worse than they already were.

By now, she had learned to deal with doubts and thoughts of the worst scenarios, but at this point everything seemed far too fragile. And the moment she thought she had control again, something would happen to let her know this wasn't true.

Ridiculous...

It almost felt like someone was mocking her now... From another world, from another side-

Her gaze for a moment drifted in a mirror.

She walked up to it, meeting a tense, almost desperate reflection. A sight she always despised...!

She turned away and left, before she could smash it to the ground. She had something better, on which she could take out her anger.

* * *

_... Lights..._

_Bright, shining blue..._

_...And intense, glowing yellow._

_Each light trying to outshine the other._

_...Voices..._

_Two strong voices blending two different songs together in the same ethereal melody..._

_Each song trying to silence the other._

_An once dear friend now standing on the other side as a cold-blooded enemy, longing with all their being to devour their opponent._

_A malicious, taunting smile is heard in their song, and faintly seen through the light, along with their eyes, glowing with yellow light as well. But also with satisfaction. With_ _pride._

_But the sight slowly grows blurry..._

_Every breath is useless, bringing pain instead of air._

_And the pain is so vast and overwhelming, that it starts smothering the blue light... silencing its song..._

_..._

_..._

_...!_

* * *

Varian jolted awake, with a scream that was followed by erratic, rapid breathing and an unknown, but overwhelming feeling in his chest. A feeling that slowly subsided, along with the sound of an accelerated heartbeat.

A few seconds passed before he realised that both Rudiger and Regina were beside him, and had shared his scream.

"What happened with you this time?" She asked, worried but also a little exasperated.

"What... what are you talking about?" Varian asked back, as he finally got his breathing under control.

"You were talking in your sleep. You were saying those words from yesterday. When that witch tried to... you know. But this time there was no glowing." As she was speaking, Rudiger climbed across his friend's shoulders, his eyes searching his face with a concerned expression.

But Varian wasn't looking at either of them. Instead his gaze was focused on his chest, where his right hand rested, feeling his hearbeat accelerate again for a short moment.

Nightmares seemed to become more of a habit ever since that night, but this one was different. This one had taken all of the previous dreams and kept the things that scared him the most.

An otherwordly situation that he did and didn't recognize.

A shattered feeling of safety.

A terrifying creature wanting to end him.

...Wait a minute.

"Zhan Tiri..." The moment that name came out of his mouth, the monster's image flashed again before his eyes and that feeling returned. Strong and almost violent, as if he was being torn apart.

"What did you say?" Regina asked, leaning over too to see his face.

"That... that monster on the pillar. I saw it. I... I knew it." Varian's voice was soft, but every word was full of fear, making him sound like he was out of breath.

"You're really not making much sense, you know that?" she said, exchanging a brief look of concern with Rudiger. "What's with that monster-thing? What did you see exactly?"

"I... I'm not sure. There were bright lights everywhere. And there was... there was singing. I was singing! I think..." His body tensed again as he spoke and he felt his stomach twisting. "I could hear two people, each singing a different song at the same time. One of them was the same song I heard yesterday, during the Sugarby incident. And I think... I was the one singing it."

"...Did it go like: Wither and decay. End this destiny-"

"Break these earthly chains. And set the spirit free." Varian finished, his eyes widening. "Was that...?"

Regina gave a small nod, a hint of fear appearing in her eyes. "That was what you were saying. Then and now... How did that other song go?"

The question seemed to have caught the young alchemist a little off guard. He immediately turned away, as if there was any clue about it on the ground. "It... I couldn't hear it very well. That other voice. It sounded so twisted and loud and I couldn't really tell much. But, there was something about... burning."

Suddenly, the princess gave a terrified gasp, her hands clasping over her mouth. And before the young alchemist could ask her what was wro-

"Incandesce and burn. Break the bond within. Heal your vessel's hurt. Collect this life for me...! That's it, isn't it?" She spoke that incantation, in a voice just as scared and soft as Varian's before, and as she did, she was trembling.

And he didn't seem to react any better. As the last words of the incantation left her mouth, that image... Zhan Tiri's image flashed before him again.

Those golden eyes cutting through him. That malicious, gruesome voice. All that light around him, stealing his breath and replacing it with anguish...

A series of painful words in the tongue of a stranger. A sudden conundrum of heat and cold... And a baby crying-

"Aah!"

"Huh?! Hey!" Snapping out of her thoughts for a moment, Regina reached out to the young alchemist, who suddenly doubled over with his hands clutching his head.

Rudiger slid off his friends shoulders and started nuzzling him, in a (rather futile...) attempt to calm him down. He could have sworn that there were tears forming in his shut eyes.

All those images. All those sounds. They were all over his mind on a loop, getting stronger every time. And it hurt. He felt as though there was a battering ram inside him, slamming his skull, trying to shatter it.

He wanted to scream, but all that was coming out of his mouth was a soft whimpering.

_Stop... Stop, stop, STO-!_

"HEY! **HEY!** What's wrong?! Look at me...! Please! ...Varian!"

Suddenly, Varian's eyes snapped open. And he raised his head to see the princess right in front of him, with her eyes wide, fearful.

She had her hands on his shoulders, and they were slightly shaking. She held his shocked, teary gaze for a moment, before retreating her arms.

The young alchemist wiped his eyes with his forearm, before taking Rudiger in his arms and letting him on his shoulders. The flashes were gone and only left a fading sensation, that was more of an irritation than pain. He was really grateful that it was over, but he couldn't help but be intrigued by what snapped him out of it. It wasn't really any form of comfort, it wasn't a point that he passed out from the pain. Just... a moment of shock. That shouldn't even be one in the first place. And yet-

"Are you-...?" She asked softly, but immediately stopped and turned away, avoiding eye contact. Before Varian could speak, she stood up, facing the entrance. "The rain has stopped. Come on. Let's get out of here already."

The shock on his face remained, as he looked between her and Rudiger, who nodded in agreement.

Let's get out of here already...

That sounded just about right. This place had caused them enough trouble as it was. But-

"Did you not hear me?! I said let's go!" Now she ordered and exited the tree, her steps fast and agitated.

"Wait!" He called out as he caught up to her and grabbed her hand. "We can't leave. Not yet. We have to go back down there." The other two stared at him in utter shock, but the princess' look soon changed to an angry glare.

"Are. You. NUTS?!" She yelled, pulling her hand away. "We went through hell and back to get out of there! And now you want to go back?!"

"Look I don't like it either! But there's something I need to figure out. That dream I had and- It cannot be random! Do you remember what I told you about that image on the pillar?"

"I remember being stalked and attacked by a crazy ghost. I remember us getting captured by said ghost, which later tried to steal your body and squash me and your raccoon to death! I remember us being trapped in a dark room with a dying light, struggling to find a way to escape! Do **you** remeber any of that?"

Varian looked away in nervousness, but only for a second, noticing a look on Rudiger's face that clearly showed he didn't like that idea either. "But the ghost is gone now! And we have that scroll! You don't have to come with me if you don't want to. Just use it to open the-"

"No! I'm not going to stay here any longer and push our luck just because you want to 'figure something out'! I said we're leaving and that's exactly what we're going to do! End of discussion!" The whole time she was speaking she was trying to keep her voice from breaking. But as she started walking, thinking it was over-

"How did you know what the second song said?"

Hearing those words, she came to stop. And her eyes grew so wide that it almost felt like they'd pop out of her skull. "What. Did you... say?"

"You're not that far away, you heard me. So, answer the question." The alchemist demanded as he walked up to her.

"I am not obliged to tell you anything! I don't owe you **anything**!" This time she wasn't able to stop her voice from breaking.

"If you're not gonna let me look for answers down there, you will give me what you can. So once again: How did you know what the second song said? Where did you hear it? Is the one you said Gothel used to-"

" **STOP!** " She screamed pushing him back strongly. Not wasting another minute, she got the scroll in her hands, and ignoring his plea to wait, she started ripping it to pieces.

When she was done, Varian could only stare at her in shock. And she stared back. With a deadly, yet tired look in her eyes. As if she just barely won a battle. But suddenly... it melted. All of it melted away, washed out with a single tear that ran down her cheek. Leaving a face that mirrored Varian's, and then added terror. Before running away.


	39. Chapter 39

Everything was a blur. It was already bad enough with the fog all around, but with tearful eyes, things weren't any easier. Still Regina just kept running, without knowing nor caring about where she was going. All that mattered at the moment was to get away.

While Varian just kept following her. Or maybe kept trying to follow her. He had trouble with that yesterday, but now with the fog it just got worse. Why was it that first thing in the morning he had to chase after her... again?

All the while he was calling out for her, telling her to wait, asking where she was, but of course she wasn't giving any answer.

She couldn't be found. Not at this moment, not at this state. She just kept going as fast as she could, hoping for the sound of steps behind her to disappear somewhere along the way...

...

That sound... Suddenly it felt louder than the voice above it. And was it... was it closing in?

_No..._

Does running on grass and dirt sound the same as running on marble?

_No!_

Was it raining?!

_**STOP!** _

...

...

...

That's what she did. All of a sudden, she had stopped. And not only that. She had fallen. She was on her hands and knees facing a lake, her breathing labored, both from the running and the tears that kept rolling down her face.

Before she could actually notice her reflection, she clumsily moved away, barely catching herself from hiding her face in her hands. Instead she turned to a second instinct, that of hugging herself and curling into a ball. And only when she did, she finally truly allowed herself to let it all out.

She always hated this...

Letting herself get emotional like that! Ruining everything the exact moment that she couldn't afford it...!

Why?! Why did she have to be like that?! What did she ever do to deserve any of this?!

_Are you really asking that?_

...

_Why did you turn away?_

She clutched her head, feeling as though she wanted to rip her hair out. She bent even more, her knees hiding her face.

_"I am not obliged to tell you anything! I don't owe you **anything**!"_

Her own words played in her mind again, and they felt so loud and so grating-!

_What happened that night?_

"Stop..." She mumbled to herself, but her voice was lost into her sobs.

_Why are you such a bi-_

" **STOOOOP!** " This time she screamed, sounding so hoarse and distorted, that she almost didn't recognize her own voice.

She shook her head, as if it would somehow send away all those horrible thoughts. But they were still there. Demanding her attention, her tears, her pain. And she was too weak to refuse them. All she could do was stay, suffer them and cry, until her body had no tears left for them. That was how it had always been. And how it would always be.

* * *

Not much later, standing behind some bushes, Varian finally found the princess (after that scream it wasn't that hard.). Though he wasn't really sure what he should do. He was angry, frustrated with her. At how she refused to help him, and later answer him, but now...

Seeing her like that felt odd. It made him feel a weight on his chest and a knot around his stomach. He knew that feeling perhaps too well:

Guilt...

...But should there really be anything to feel guilty about?

He was right to want to learn what was going on with him-his dream. He tried asking her to help him, but she was being difficult, unreasonable. She even tore the scroll, just because-

Because...

* * *

_" **STOP!** "_

_That look in her eyes._

_Deadly and tired. Right after a hard-won battle... turning into something vulnerable and hurt, with only a tear._

* * *

Because he crossed a line.

He hurt her.

And that look on her face, the scream he heard before, the girl that was now crying her eyes out, trying to shut the world out...

He did it. All of it.

Now he could only stare at her, feeling that guilt dragging him down, not allowing him to move or even look away. While at the same time, he could hear a distant sound whispering in his ears.

Steps from behind... followed by swords clashing... and a scream-!

He quietly gasped as he stumbled back, feeling as though he had lost both his balance and his breath for a moment.

From his place across his friend's shoulders, Rudiger chittered at him curiously. But instead of answering, Varian just turned around and started walking away, his eyes bearing a clouded, nervous look, only to be stopped by a quite stern-looking raccoon that jumped off his shoulders and in front of him.

"What?" He half-whispered in a tense voice.

Rudiger pointed at the princess, still glaring at him with that stern look and now giving him an equally stern series of chitterings.

"What?! Are you- I can't just-..." Varian stumbled on his words, while trying to shush the critter, until he sat on his knees and he approached him. The young alchemist turned away and closed his eyes for a moment before he spoke, suddenly having difficulty looking at his friend. "...I'm the last person she'd want to see right now, buddy. Even if I go there, I'll only make things worse. She'll just stand up and run away again."

Hardly a second passed after he stopped and Rudiger started rummaging through his satchel, soon bringing out and giving the alchemist one of his stickbombs. Specifically, the new type, the one he combined with a failed attempt from... the last day.

Even before the boiling bubbles, that day's experiments had made quite the mess and that orange disaster wasn't an exception. However, he still cleaned them up. And the latter proved to be pretty useful later...

This time, though, things weren't as simple. This time the mess was far too big and-

...

He couldn't afford any more.

He'd better get started then.

"All right. I'll try." He said with a sigh, as he put the stickbomb back and turned towards Regina.

She was still crying, her back turned on him. But upon hearing his footsteps getting closer she stopped for a moment, without turning to face him though.

"Umm... princess..." He begun, rubbing his arm, awkwardness and nervousness in his voice.

She didn't say or do anything else to show she acknowledged his presence, and he went closer, about to sit next to her. But she immediately turned away, behind a large nearby tree.

"I. Order you. Leave me alone...!" She growled in between sobs.

"...Listen, I-"

"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!" She screamed as he tried again getting closer and he jumped back.

Varian turned back to look at Rudiger, who seemed to wear the same concerned look as him. But he was quick to change it and motion at him to try again. This time, instead of going next to her, the young alchemist went and sat against the tree she was sitting behind.

For a while, the only sound that was heard was the princess' soft whimpers, as she tried to compose herself.

She then dared to take a glimpse behind her, and noticed he was still there, sitting against the other side of the tree. Not saying or doing anything. Not even looking her way...

Why did he have to be there though? To rub more salt in the wound?

But, he'd be yelling if that was the case, wouldn't he? And he wasn't. Not now, not before. Many times she expected him to, but he didn't (on most of them at least). So...

"...What do you want?" She finally asked, her voice still a little weary and shaky from all the crying.

It took Varian a moment to answer, mostly because he was surprised that she actually spoke first after her outbusrsts. "I... I just wanted to say... I'm sorry."

She felt weird hearing those words, and she started shaking again.

"I overstepped back there and... I said things I shouldn't have." He carried on, his words ringing with sincerity and regret.

"...Yes, you did! So now what? You expect me to answer your stupid questions just because you said you're sorry?!" She spat, holding herself tighter.

"No, I-"

"Oh, save it and cut it with this nonense already! You're just wasting both of our time!"

"So, is that what you call all you've been though? Nonsense?" He didn't raise or change his voice in any way as he spoke.

And still Regina felt like those words stabbed her. "I... W-why are you like this?! Why must you keep asking me?! Why do you even care?! I was finally somehow fine! I was finally starting to somehow forget, so why do you have to force me into remembering all of this?! Nothing good will come from knowing! Nothing's ever gonna change for either of us!" Damn, the tears were coming back. "...Nothing... nothing will change. There's no point in any of this. You may think it'll... it'll somehow fix everything, or put it all into place or whatever, but... all it'll do is cause pain. So it's better to let go. It's better to forget."

Hearing her say all of this, something inside Varian hurt and his eyes had started stinging. Everything she said, the possibility (if not certainty) of pain that would come with the answers he wanted, deep down he knew it could exist, but he never really thought it could be like that. And looking back on it, it made him feel kind of dumb. But...

"But I never said it." Varian said after a moment, Rudiger's presence on his lap helping his own tears stay at bay. "That by knowing, things will automatically get better. I know they can't. But I also know first-hand that hiding and running can only get you this far. I mean... if I knew about Gothel chasing us, maybe I could have done something to help, instead of making everything harder for my Father. Or if I could learn something about... about those dreams I've been having, or the reason behind that occasional lightshow on my head... I could understand what's going on and what to do about it. Instead of just... being scared."

This time, Regina carefully turned around a little, just for a glimpse, her expression curious and somehow softer.

"Maybe you're right. Learning the truth can and will hurt. But it can also give you a chance to move on. It's up to you really to decide what you'll do with it. And I think it's better than running away blindly."

"But... what if you're not ready to face that truth?"

Something in her voice was telling Varian that she wasn't talking about him. "Then I guess... you take your time. Until you feel ready to. And... that's okay." Those sensations on his chest and his stomach returned and this time he couldn't help but shed a few tears.

But they were soon both covered a little by two other sensations. Both on his hands.

Under his right hand was the frame of a raccoon, letting out a soft, reassuring trill while wrapping his small striped tail around him.

And above his left hand was the hand of a princess, still a little shaky, still without a look his way and still offering and asking the same thing as him.

With a silent, tearful smile he petted the raccoon and held back the princess' hand.

She had merely half of a smile across her face, as she fiddled with something in her other hand.

And they both whispered the same words, each loud enough only for themselves to hear:

"Thank you. I'm sorry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is all for now! Chapter 40 is in the works and if everything goes according to plan it should be ready before March! Bye for now and I hope you enjoyed the story so far. :)


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